Maidin mhaithe!

From last night:

Good evening. I thought I would get an early start on whatever I happen to say for tomorrow. Yeah, that’s what I’ll tell myself. Actually, I just went over Laura’s prologue for her next book and made some comments and I opened up the first chapter and I find that I’m not really in a reading mode. This is not a good thing because I’m sitting waiting for Cedric at scouts and it won’t be over until about 8:30 and all I have with me to do is my lap top and my knitting. It’s hard to knit out here when there isn’t really sufficient light and I don’t want to go inside. It would be warmer and there would be more than enough light, but it would also be much louder and I really am not in the mood for that, either. So, here I am, writing for tomorrow. I might move and work on something else, time will tell.

The yarn for Joseph's socks. They are actually almost read to turn the heels.

Last Friday the boys didn’t do any school work, as I mentioned last time. Yesterday I began getting lesson plans ready for this and next week (so I’ll be all done until after Christmas) and today I finally finished. The fun part is that each day they each need to do an extra lesson of something in order to be all caught up with what they missed Friday. That wouldn’t be too bad if today hadn’t also been a two hour delay day for Quabbin Regional School District. And even then it wouldn’t  have been awful if Amena hadn’t missed the bus. How the heck she did that is beyond my comprehension. She had an extra two hours for goodness sake. Sigh. Children. I was going to let the boys have an hour delay but they ended up having an hour and a half delay. Even with that, they each have two subjects they are caught up in (that they have every or every other day) and three to catch up in. Seth also has science to do some catch up work in.

Currently, we are in the middle of one heck of a storm. It is rainy and windy and not terribly cold but not as cold as it could be. Although if it got too much colder, we would be having snow instead of rain. Last time I checked, it was 34°. The wind does make it feel quite a bit colder but at least it isn’t. The storm is supposed to still be with us tomorrow according to what I looked at although the chance of rain is somewhat less. Thursday we have a chance of snow.

Yesterday I had an appointment with the chiropractor so I went to Michael’s. I wanted to get some clear glass ornaments so we can paint them tomorrow night and to see if they still had some of the stamps that I really liked. The good news was that everything Christmas was 50% off today as opposed to the 40% when I was there Friday with Julia. The bad news (which was really good because it meant I wouldn’t spend money I really didn’t need to) is that the stamps I really liked were gone. The other good news is that they had some scrapbooking paper pads for $5.00. They are regularly $19.99 so that was a good deal. I got two for school stuff.

The chiropractor is always amazed that my hips are still straight. I missed my last appointment which was in September so it had been a couple of months since I’d been there, and they were still in alignment. I thought my lower back was stiff but he said the joints felt good. I think maybe the stiffness isn’t the bones but the muscles. I’m working on them but when I am in the same position too long, they don’t like it.

There isn’t much else to report so I will end for now in spite of the fact that there is still an hour or so until Cedric is done. I’ll have to think of something else to do. I’m going to start the car for one thing because it’s rather coolish in here at the moment.

And from this morning:

Good morning! Amena got up and ready in time for the bus today and that is enough of a reason for !!! Also, I don’t have to work on lesson plans, etc., for Seth and Joseph. That is another reason for !!! Amena was doing really well at not missing the bus until she had those five days in a row. Maybe all her nights of staying up way too late finally caught up with her at that point. I’m not sure how she cannot put the two things together.

Given the time of day, not much is happening at the moment. Cedric is getting things ready for school. Seth just finished and Emercen-C. Joseph and Paul are still asleep in bed. Seth was going to go wake Joseph up but I stopped him. He was feeling kind of tired and not his usual self last night so I think sleep is good for him at the moment.

The dogs are still dogs. We were low on dog food so I was giving them cans of stuff from the basement (canned beef, mostly) in order to use up a lot of stuff that we have that I will never use and that we can’t give away because it’s all postdates and it gave them diarrhea. They’d just recovered from that and Cedric and Seth gave them a bunch of dog treats that Misty ate the most of and she got diarrhea again. So, it’s bad enough that they already poop in the house far too often; that was just ridiculous. Anyway, they’ve been better since I’ve been making Scooter go out every morning. She must be completely blind by now because she bumps into everything. She will get to the door and he used to always stand at the side that opens; now she doesn’t always even get there. I’ll open the door and if there is anything in the way, including cats taking the opportunity to get in or Misty who has been out and in and out and in, Scooter will turn around and go the other way. I’ve put a stop to that and physically put her in the right direction and kind of help her along outside.

The cats are still cats. They will come in at every opportunity which is a lot of fun. The other day Kitty caught a chipmunk and the boys opened the door to see what the fuss was about and then we had a chipmunk in the house. At least it was dead and didn’t have to be caught. Not long after that, Kitty made a fuss at the door again and the boys opened it to see what it was about and she brought in a rat. That was already dead as well and was quickly dispatched back outdoors.

And time goes quickly by and it is time to get something done. Have a wonderful day.

Pattern of Love

by Jack Smith

I didn't question Timmy, age nine, or his seven-year old brother Billy about the brown wrapping paper they passed back and forth between them as we visited each store.

Every year at Christmas time, our Service Club takes the children from poor families in our town on a personally conducted shopping tour. I was assigned Timmy and Billy, whose father was out of work. After giving them the allotted $4 each, we began our trip. At different stores I made suggestions, but always their answer was a solemn shake of the head, no. Finally I asked, “Where would you suggest we look?”

“Could we go to a shoe store, Sir?” answered Timmy. “We'd like a pair of shoes for our Daddy so he can go to work.”

In the shoe store the clerk asked what the boys wanted. Out came the brown paper. “We want a pair of work shoes to fit this foot,” they said.

Billy explained that it was a pattern of their Daddy's foot. They had drawn it while he was asleep in a chair.

The clerk held the paper against a measuring stick, then walked away. Soon he came with an open box. “Will these do?” he asked.

Timmy and Billy handled the shoes with great eagerness. “How much do they cost?” said Billy.

Then Timmy saw the price on the box. “They're $16.95,” he said in dismay. “We only have $8.”

I looked at the clerk and he cleared his throat. “That's the regular price,” he said, “but they're on sale; $3.98, today only.”

Then with shoes happily in hand the boys bought gifts for their mother and two little sisters. Not once did they think of themselves.

The day after Christmas the boy's father stopped me on the street. The new shoes were on his feet, gratitude was in his eyes. “I just thank Jesus for people who care,” he said.

“And I thank Jesus for your two sons,” I replied. “They taught me more about Christmas in one evening than I had learned in a lifetime.”

Día duit

Good morning. I’m not feeling terribly exuberant this morning; not exactly sad, either. Reflective, perhaps. I was, as I often do, checking my email and seeing what is on Facebook while I ate my breakfast. Facebook is a good way to keep in touch with family and friends but it is also a place where people are free to say things that they wouldn’t necessarily in face-to-face situations. In some ways this can be good. In some ways it is quite the opposite.

Fred and George socks all done. I really like these. I think I'll  make more. Oh, wait, I am making more--for Joseph!

While I was looking this morning, I noticed how very judgmental we, as a society, have become. We judge others on any number of criteria, not all good. Everyone has an opinion on the Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown cases, the man strangled to death in New York, all of the other murders not reported in the news, the motivations behind these things, and a great many other happenings and the people involved. I am not going to express my views. Honestly, I have opinions, but since I am not privy to all the facts (I’m not sure anyone is who relies solely on information gleaned from the internet), I could be wrong. The thing I find sobering this morning is that almost every single person I know, every single person who has expressed an opinion, is ready to pass judgment on someone. And, quite frankly, not everyone can be right.

This was our snowy morning sunrise. It was very pretty.

The good news, I believe, is that there will be a final judgment. When this happens, everyone who was involved in all the often heinous happenings in the world today will be judged. Righteously. This is what my belief system tells me and I find it a comforting thought. No matter what the circumstances, the thoughts, intents, actions, and outcome of each and every occurrence will be considered. I doubt very much that my opinions on the Trayvon Martin case will decide this final outcome. I’m really kind of glad—I don’t want the responsibility.

The socks I had to fix because I didn't fasten the yarn at the toe well enough and it came undone.

Life has been fairly life-like around here. Friday we ended up not doing any school because Seth and Joseph had dentist appointments and after that we went to Joanna’s. Then I went to Julia’s and we went to Michael’s. Then we went home and by then it was time for Amena to be home so we just didn’t do anything. At all. And I didn’t get ready for this week either. And now it’s almost 8:30 and we need to get busy and I have an appointment with the chiropractor but I’m not going to worry about it. I’m going to get done what can be done and not stress.

While I’m not going to stress, I’m not going to be here much longer either. So, have a wonderful day. Enjoy it. And only worry about the things over which you have control. Give the rest to God; He has ultimate control and if you don’t think he can handle it, maybe you should think again.

Slán.

Mr. Jinks Hands Out the Holly

The Children's Friend/December 1958

David had just finished making a snowman. He was very large and round with the jolliest face ever. He wore a high hat and a red plaid muffler, although why any snowman should want a muffler, David didn't quite know. He only knew that it seemed to suit Mr. Jinks.

            Of course his name was Mr. Jinks because that was what David named every snowman he had ever made. He had made several-three this very winter, but not one of them had seemed as handsome and jolly looking as the present Mr. Jinks.

            "I'm glad that you're close to the sidewalk," David told him, "because you look as if you were wishing everyone a Merry Christmas."

            He had just added another coal button when the parcel-post truck drove up and the driver carried a huge box into the house. "I'll bet that's the holly Grandpa sent from Oregon," David called, following the man into the house.

            "Yes, I'm sure it is," replied his mother. When they had opened the box she said, "There's an extra lot this year. We can make wreaths for every one of the front windows."

            David helped, and when all the wreaths had been made there was a large basket of small pieces left over.

            "I wonder what we can do with these?" she said. "They are much too pretty to be thrown away."

            "I know!" cried David. "I'll let Mr. Jinks give them away. He can help make a merry Christmas for everyone who passes."

            "I think that's a lovely idea," Mother agreed. "And I'm sure that Mr. Jinks will think so too."

            First David made a sign which read "Merry Christmas. Help yourself." Then he took the basket of holly out and propped it up in front of the snowman. After that he stood in one of the front windows to watch the people pass.

            Mr. Bromley, the banker, was the first one to come by. He was walking very fast and looking straight ahead. David was very much afraid that Mr. Bromley was going to pass right by without so much as a glance.

            But no, he saw the sign and stopped long enough to put a sprig of holly in his buttonhole. David could see a smile on the banker's face and he couldn't remember ever having seen him smile before. But then, he reminded himself that he didn't see Mr. Bromley very often and that maybe it worried him to have so much money in the bank that belonged to other people.

            Next came Mrs. Ross, who worked in the bakery. She was walking slowly, as if she was very tired. “I guess that she has been making hundreds of cakes,” said David to himself. When she noticed Mr. Jinks’ smiling face she smiled back and took a spring of holly. Then she walked along as if she weren’t nearly so tired.

            Some boys with ice skates came next. They each took some holly and called to the snowman, “Thanks, old fellow. A Merry Christmas to you, too.”

            David watched people go by until it grew too dark for him to see any longer. Almost everyone had stopped to pick up a spring of holly. “Mr. Jinks sure made a Merry Christmas for a lot of people,” he said to his mother.

            “So he did,” she smiled, “With the help of you and Grandpa.”

Mom's Present Was Missing (for yesterday)

by Gloria Pope

Kathy worked her way through the holiday crowds. She considered the meager amount in her purse that was to cover Christmas gifts for her seven children and one or two close relatives. The year had not been good for her husband, who like others at the company where he worked had been required to take a pay cut to avoid losing his job.

With the shopping almost done, Kathy found a beautiful blouse, just the color, size, and style that she knew her mother would love. Best of all, it was on sale, and she could buy it and still stay within her budget. She purchased it and felt a glow of excitement, knowing the gift was exactly right.

Having finished her shopping, she gathered the twins and all the packages and headed for the car.  Then she discovered that one of the packages was missing~the gift for her mother! She retraced her steps carefully, but her unsuccessful inquiries brought a bitter realization of the truth: no gift for her mother, and no money left to replace it.

Standing amid the holiday crowds, the twins clinging to her package-laden arms, Kathy felt only the burden of the holidays and none of the joy. Her tears flowed freely.

A woman approached and touched Kathy's arm, saying, “Dear, I noticed you talking with one of the clerks about your lost parcel. Please take this, and buy another blouse for your mother. You see, this Christmas I have no mother to buy a gift for. Please, it would mean so much to me.” The woman pressed a twenty-dollar bill into Kathy's hand and slipped away before Kathy could speak.

Lost in thought Kathy walked slowly toward the rack of women's blouses. The crowds of men, women, and children still bumped and jostled her, but she was no loner bothered by them. She knew one of them might be another “angel in disguise.”

Keeping Baby Warm

by Lynda Laughlin

It was an inexpensive dime-store set, and he was only three years old. His back was toward me, but I could see that his chubby little hands were busily working on something at the old table.

“What are you doing?” I asked him impatiently, annoyed at him for touching the decorations after he had been told not to.

As I started toward the scene of his latest mischief, he turned toward me with wide blue eyes filling and a single tear sliding down his cherubic cheek. Then I saw it. A carefully folded tissue had been tenderly placed over the small ceramic infant.

“Baby Jesus was cold, Mommy,” he whispered.

Ten years have passed, and the tiny Nativity has been replaced by a much larger one. But this year, as every year, I found a carefully folded tissue covering the baby Jesus. I think I know who did it, and I hope he never stops.

Is There a Santa Claus?

by Francis P. Church, an editorial from the New York Sun, Sept. 21, 1897

Dear Editor,

I am eight years old.   Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.

Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun it is so.  Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa

Claus?"

Virginia O'Hanlon,

115 West 95th Street

New York City

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginia. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.