Holiday Meals With Family

The gift of time;

Enjoying the labors of great cooks;

The special effort of the table setting;

The children in "nice"clothes;

Beautifully decorated homes;

Laughter;

Pictures;

Memories

Celebrations of Faith and Family

This is always the beginning of the end. The year is coming to a close and before it does, we gather together and celebrate. We celebrate our thanks and our faith and all that makes faith come alive in us. In my family, we also celebrate birthdays. This month my mother, my sister in law, several cousins and their progeny. Next month is mine. So we spend a great deal of time coordinating and planning... Not to mention eating. The hardest part is keeping the details in check and taking time to savor the people. So breathe deeply. Take in the sights, sounds and smells. See if you can will the season to move more slowly. Because next up is the New Year and, for me, three more birthdays in January. Including that baby of mine who turns 16.

Familiar sights, sounds and smells of November.

It is here. One of my favorite months of the year. November. Colors scream outside every window. I need my blanket on the bed. The coffee tastes better. I smell wood burning fireplaces at night when I go outside. Cinnamon, gingerbread, pumpkin spice and cloves are everywhere. Starbucks has my holiday drink favorites. I can find turkey and cranberry sauce all month. Egg nog is on the shelf. It is dark before dinner. My mail box is full of glossy magazines and letters seeking contributions for charities. I have restocked on the hot chocolate and marshmallows. I can bring our my George Winston "Thanksgiving' album. My family starts talking about family meals and visits. And everyone is inside more.... closer together. It is time to breath in and be aware. So if you catch me and I am not smiling. Please remind me. I love what this month brings. Let me be the first to wish you Happy Thanksgiving.

Prayer. From a song

Father give me the strength to be everything I am called to be ,
Father show me the way ,
To Lead them, won't you lead me , to lead them with strong hands, to stand up when they can't,
So I will never leave them hungry for love, chasing things that I could give up,
Show them I am willing to fight,and give them
The best of my life, so we can call this a home,
So lead me, because I can't do this alone.

10 Things I know about my Daughter even when I am mad. (And she forgets)

1. She is incredibly intuitive and bright.
2. She is full of compassion and empathy.
3. She is beautiful without trying.
4. She will not always give you another chance, but she is loyal to her friends.
5. She is full of dreams and will make them come true.
6. She can talk a fish into flying.
7. She can make art out of silly string while sleeping if she wants to.
8. She is musical in everything she does and says.
9. She was born with a gift for words and speech.
10. I will always love her, no matter what.

Family Guy, Snowboarders, and Tiger.

As usual, common sense is hard to find this day and age. The creator of Family Guy allowed a person with Down's Syndrome to be portrayed in his show and made a crack about Sarah Palin. This causes a public debate. Everything about that show offends someone. That seems to be the point of the show Whether the jokes were funny or not was the point of the debate. It was whether anyone should be allowed to laugh at someone who has a disability. If you spend time with the disabled you will be inspired, saddened and amused by them as much as anybody else you meet.

An Olympic snowboarder, leaves the Olympics and apologizes over photos TMZ circulated showing a drunk woman, moving his medal up his body with her tongue while he stands there drunk and fuzzy and surrounded by his friends. He had to publicly apologize? For being drunk and being surrounded by drunks? Does anyone look up to snowboarders except other snowboarders? Do we really talk to our children and tell them to be or not to be like snowboarders. I have been embarrassed by more important Americans representing this country than a drunk snowboarder.

Tiger apologizes publicly! To who? Companies who paid him for endorsements got their money. Fans who looked up to him as a person chose a stranger. He may still be a great golf player. He devastated his family... no one else.

Don't we have real news to report any more?

Can't people just lighten up?