Tag Archives: love

Christmas In June? Really?

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I thought I was seeing things. I am older you know. My eyes are probably not as good as they used to be. As I gazed down the aisle of Hobby Lobby yesterday I thought my eyes were deceiving me.

It was around 90 degrees outside. The cool air hit my face as my friend and I walked into the door of Hobby Lobby. One of the first things I saw in the aisles ahead of me were all different shapes of cute metal and ceramic pumpkins. It didn’t hit me at first that they were preparing for Halloween. You have to remember that the calendar on my cell phone said June 26!

Ok, I thought, It is a little early  but…… and then I turned into an aisle. Lo and behold, it was Christmas!!!!!! Again, I had to blink my eyes. When they stopped blinking the scenery hadn’t changed.

I looked at the store clerk and said “Really?” He shook his head in agreement and said “I know. Nothing I can do.” And he kept shaking his head as if he agreed with me.

To be fair they did have fourth of July trappings out too, but not in  as many aisles, but Christmas? I know I have seen the Christmas in July displays but what I saw was Christmas and Halloween. What happened to Thanksgiving?

Why can’t we enjoy today without rushing the seasons? Are stores so desperate that they need to push Christmas on us now? Or are we the ones that are so desperate for that Christmas feeling in our lives that we want to rush the season, which makes stores rush the seasons, which perhaps makes life more bearable because of the peace and joy feeling we are searching for in our lives that we connect with the Christmas Season.

I, for one, am not ready to let the summer go yet. As I write this it is June 27 and I want to enjoy each day. If we look for it, we can find the same feelings today that we get in the Christmas Season. Look for those feelings inside of yourself and find what feeds your soul to keep that Christmas Spirit and the feelings of peace and joy with you all year-long.

Families Feud

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I have been thinking about families today. I have especially been thinking about families that are estranged from one another.

It makes me very sad when I see relationships broken up because of misunderstandings. I once knew a brother and sister in their middle adult years become enemies.  They started feuding because of money and homes being left to one and not to all. I do not know who was right or wrong in this case. Many years passed and the feud continued. Children of these adults were not allowed to have any relationship with their cousins. Family events came and went without these people and families being part of each others lives. Soon the brother was on his deathbed. He asked to see his sister. At that moment it didn’t matter who was right or wrong. It didn’t matter what was left to who. All that mattered was that it was time for healing.

The brother died and those cousins, the man.s great nephews that never knew him were the pall bearers.The sister wept about all those lost years. She couldn’t go back. The relationship was mended at the end but there wasn’t enough time left to create new memories.

Relationships are never easy. Forgiveness is never easy. We are a proud people. We always hurt those we love the most.  Why am I writing this? Another family I know is suffering from estrangement. Soon it may be too late.

Perhaps I am so passionate about this subject because I have no siblings to feud with. Of course I can’t understand the sibling relationship but what I want to say is that a solo life without your siblings is a lonely life.

Who else is there in this world besides your parents  that has shared your life since your birth? Who else shares your genes and your history? Who else resembles your parents so closely?.Who else could share the sibling rivalry?You may not always like your family but there is love possibly deeply buried in the heart.

I have heard the words “I have no regrets if I never make up with my family, with my mother, with my brothers and with my sisters.” I say to you: perhaps you don’t know yourself as well as you think and someday those words will be flung into space in sorrow.

When we cease to exist in this world all that will be left will be those feelings we leave behind. We may think the material things of this world that we leave those we love are all important but they aren’t. They can’t take it with them anymore than we can take our earthly riches with us. What we can take is the love of those we left behind and leave those we left behind our love.

We might not know it but under the non existant feelings we think we don’t have,  that love  is there somewhere hidden in our heart. It is hidden by our pride, our need to be right, and our selfishness. We all have those feelings. It is ok to feel what we are feeling but ask yourself when the end is near will you like the brother and sister in the story regret not forgiving each other sooner?

Time is all we have until we don’t.