This week: Triumph is Simply UMPH! Added to TRY! Edited by: Fyn  
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Christmas doesn’t come from a store, maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more.~~ Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
It was the beginning of the greatest Christmas ever. Little food. No presents. But there was a snowman in their basement.
~~ Markus Zusak, The Book Thief
Fine old Christmas, with the snowy hair and ruddy face, had done his duty that year in the noblest fashion, and had set off his rich gifts of warmth and color with all the heightening contrast of frost and snow.~~George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss
I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach! ~~Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
For somehow, not only for Christmas, but all the long year through,
The joy that you give to others is the joy that comes back to you.~~Margaret Elizabeth Sangster, The Christmas Tree
The magical dust of Christmas glittered on the cheeks of humanity ever so briefly, reminding us of what is worth having and what we were intended to be!! ~~Max Lucado, God Came Near
Into this climate of fear and apprehension, Christmas enters, / Streaming lights of joy, ringing bells of hope / And singing carols of forgiveness high up in the bright air. / The world is encouraged to come away from rancor, / Come the way of friendship.~~Maya Angelou, Amazing Grace
There is no ideal Christmas; only the one Christmas you decide to make as a reflection of your values, desires, affections, traditions,~~Bill McKibben, Hundred Dollar Holiday: The Case For a More Joyful Christmas.
Christmas is a bridge. We need bridges as the river of time flows past. Today's Christmas should mean creating happy hours for tomorrow and reliving those of yesterday.~~ Gladys Taber, Still Cove Journal. |
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This year we are facing challenges as never before. Christmas, or the holidays in general, seem to be hitting people especially hard. I get that, I do. I wish my family were all here. We are getting older and that tiny little voice squeaks out that we don't know how many more Christmases (for example) that we might have. It makes each 'seem' more special. Point is, we never know. We don't know how many tomorrows we have. So it seems to me that we need to try to make each holiday, each day, as special as we can. It all simply comes down to making a choice to do so.
My parents are long gone. My Grandmother's been gone for fifty years. Yet this time of year, I miss them so much it is palpable. I focus on little things they'd get a kick out of. I don't shy away from the memories we all shared. I do not not mention things they did and said. These things bring them closer. No, it isn't exactly the same, but it's better than nothing. And thus is the way of life, of growing older and growing up.
I choose to focus on the positive. And yes, sometimes I am horribly OUT of focus. But I try harder. I want crystal clarity. So I try harder.
Was just outside getting pictures of the Christmas Star conjunction. Zoomed out, they are fairly clear. Zoomed in, the pictures are blurry and pixilated. Kind of like memories, especially of those extraordinarily close to us.
My dad would put me up on his shoulders and point out stars to me. He told my five-year-old self (Six? Seven? Shrugs - doesn't matter) that stars were different souls peeking down from heaven. I wrote a song once using the line, "So twinkle brightly for me, Dad, so I'll know where in heaven you are." Last night, the clouds blocked out the light. Tonight, they are shining brightly in the evening sky. In MY mind, there they were: Mom. Dad, Annie, Aunt Chris, and a bunch of others blurring it a bit as they shuffled around trying to see back as I was looking up. I like to think that there are countless others having that special moment.
Will this year be odd and different? Sure. A little change now and then is good for people. (It is. At least that is what I am telling myself.) So, it isn't the same old, same old. Kind of like taking a vacation somewhere new; all kinds of adventures await! I'm trying. I choose to look at it this way, even now as 'Mary's Boy Child' is playing. My mom's favorite Christmas song. I can hear her in my mind's ear singing along. And I'm smiling.
I totally lost it about three weeks ago. We were decorating the front room tree. I put one of my mom's favorite ornaments on the tree. The next one I unwrapped was a special one for our dog, Bear, we lost about three years ago. Tears streamed as I hung them on the tree. Now, I can look at them and smile. Nothing wrong with a few tears. Nothing wrong with getting emotional. I'm alive. I'm human. And we humans come prepackaged with all sorts of emotions. Occasionally, sad ones spill over or erupt or leak. Just as happy ones have us giggling until, again, tears fall. Did you know that from a distance, without sound, laughing and crying look remarkably alike? Something to think about.
I want to wish everyone a happy holiday. Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, Be happy. Be joyous. Let yourself try to experience all the happy feels, the warm fuzzies, the special moments. Facetime or talk to those far away. Be in and of the many different aspects of the days. Try your darnedest to make this season a good one in spite of itself!
And remember: Triumph is just UMPH!!! added to Try!
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Poetry: December 23, 2020 Issue [#10531]
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