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Friday, 04 December 2009

  • Christmas memories

    I haven't had much of Christmas on my mind lately.  But I'm home today, thinking that I need to get the tree up and the ornaments on.  I was thinking of Christmases long ago, and remembering the Lionel train that my dad would occasionally have riding along the tracks under the tree.  I think his had smoke that went up...it was the coolest thing that I have ever seen.  I'd lay on the floor under the tree with all its lights, and just watch as that train went round and round, waiting to see the light on the engine and the smoke coming off the stack.

    There is nothing more relaxing than being the conductor of your own train.  One summer back in the days of my youth, my brother and I took half of an old ping pong table out in the garage and built our own railroad upon it.  We had a smaller gauge train than the big Lionel, but I remember making a paper mache mountain for the train to go through as we placed the tracks around the table.  We would walk up to the little hobby shop that was located in a small mall across the street from the back of the house and buy trees and bushes and such to place all around the board.  That was a good summer.  I can't remember what happened to our railroad as the winter came and the cars had to be parked in the garage.

    I've always enjoyed train rides, getting lost in the view out the window as farm fields and small towns passed by.  Nothing was more relaxing than taking the train from college to home, learning the names of the towns that we stopped in on the way up the line.  The only way I really enjoy going into the city these days is by train, although it's a lot more crowded than the Amtrak was going home from school.  I'd love to see this country by train one day.

    Hmm...I've got Arlo Guthrie's song The City of New Orleans going through my head now.  Greatest train song ever.

    I wish my son had a Lionel train.  That would be motivation enough to get the tree up and decorated.  I could be the conductor again, laying on the floor and watching the train, and letting my imagination take me to places I have never been.

     

Friday, 27 November 2009

  • Basking in the afterglow

    I don't know about you, but I'm not quite ready to pack up Thanksgiving and pull out the hustle and bustle that is Christmas.  I think Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because it is all about being thankful for what we do have, not about our wants and desires, and for the people who are in our lives and the love that we share.  It isn't about perfection, it's about peace.

    This Thanksgiving was the first time I have had my children with me in I can't remember how many years.  We went to my aunt and uncle's house, and we spent the day with my brother and sister and only two of my nineteen cousins, along with a couple of their children.

    The thing that strikes me most about the day was the warmth and the love I felt there.  My aunt and uncle are in their early eighties, but they are full of life and love.  We shared stories about the past and Thanksgivings of long ago when we celebrated with the entire Scottish clan of ours in other homes of other relatives.  Pictures were brought out of their wedding and from some of their trips abroad, and a diary that one of my great aunts kept, along with stories about what life was like in Scotland when my grandparents grew up there.

    For this one day we gathered together and shared family history.  Stories were told and laughter was in abundance, and love was around the table and felt by all.  We gathered in a circle all around the kitchen this year for the grace before the meal, and as my uncle offered a prayer and blessing, you could tell that he was feeling the emotions of the day.  It was a feeling of love and thanks for the family that we all were a part of.

    After dinner a couple of my other cousins stopped by, bringing their mother, my aunt, who is now eighty-nine years old.  She is one of the oldest of my relatives, and she seemed so very happy to be there with the rest of us, if only for a short while.

    We realized that some of the stories told today need to be written down or recorded.  We are going to try to gather together again sometime with more of the family around, so that we can try to capture the history of the family before too many of our elders pass away.  I hope we do get the chance to do so.  So often we seem to have big plans, only to let the busyness of life get in the way.

    The day ended too soon.  It's a shame that we can't pack up the feeling of love that was shared along with the leftover turkey and fixings to take home with us.  My aunt has said that this is the last year that she will host Thanksgiving; it is getting to be too much at her age.  I am so very thankful for this day that we shared, for the love and the laughter and the feeling that life is indeed very blessed for all of us.

     

Wednesday, 25 November 2009

  • Celebrating my life

    Today was my birthday.  For the first time in a very long time I actually felt like celebrating my life.  I took the day off of work and went out exploring.  I went out in nature, where I always find my peace and restore my soul. 

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    I turned fifty-two today.  There have been times when I have felt like I have traveled way too many roads, feeling like there were way too many miles on this body and soul of mine. 

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    There have been times in my life when I have felt like nothing but junk,

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    but I have learned that God doesn't make junk.  Everything he makes is a work of art.

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    When times got rough and the waters were raging around me,

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    I longed for the peace and calm that once was there.

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    I'm grateful for friends who stood with me,

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    bringing light to my darkness and getting me back on the right path.

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    There have been times when it seemed like such a hard climb to get to where I wanted to be,

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    and taking that first step was often the hardest.

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    And while I have burned a few bridges in the past,

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    the road ahead seems a lot smoother.

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    Yes, there were times when I felt like I was in dry dock,

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    but life seems to be flowing like a river these days.

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    I am a glorious creation,

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    complex on the inside,

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    but I'm standing tall,

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    more alive than I have ever been.

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    Yes, into each life a little rain must fall,

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    but for me, life is just ducky right now! 

    I am blessed by all my Xanga friends.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

     

     

Sunday, 22 November 2009

  • Jobs I've had

    Old Hat is playing games again, so here is my list of my illustrious careers:

    • Factory line worker at a perfume plant
    • Cafeteria worker in college, both on the serving line and in the salad department making salads
    • Back line at Red Lobster cooking the chicken and potatoes, later moving to morning prep staff where I peeled shrimp and breaded the meals
    • Temporary job as receptionist for a promotional company at college
    • Unit secretary in a hospital; also taught to read EKG monitors when I worked evenings in CSU
    • Cashier at Kohl's
    • Cashier at Hobby Lobby
    • Library technical assistant

    Not much, but it's all I've got.  Still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.