Tag Archives: Peace

I’m Not Too Old For A Pillow Pet!

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0310_peaceful_bear_Column: Something About Nothing, by Julie Seedorf  Published in the Albert Lea Tribune and The Courier Sentinel week of March 8, 2014

I have a Pillow Pet. I asked for a Pillow Pet for Christmas. The name of my Pillow Pet is Peaceful Bear. Peaceful Bear is a rainbow of colors with a peace symbol on his paw. He was a gift from my Granddaughter and Grandson.

For those of you that don’t know what a Pillow Pet is I will explain.  Pillow Pets were invented by the Telfer family. The children of the Telfer family would take their stuffed animals to bed and try to squish them up and use them as a Pillow, but they were too hard. So the Telfer family invented their Pillow Pet which has Velcro straps that bundle the stuffed animal up like a Pillow so you can use it to sleep. The first Pillow Pet was Snuggly Puppy. From the first years of Pillow Pets the product line has expanded to Glow Pets, Dream Lite and other items along the same venue.

Pillow Pets were made for children. I am possibly in my second childhood. I have been buying Pillow Pets for my grandchildren since their invention. I do want to say I have found that the knock off brands can’t compare to the real thing. I didn’t test the Pillow Pets when I bought them. I thought they were adorably cute. They come in many different varieties with names and cuteness of different animals.

I happened to be staying at my son’s and forgot my pillow. I picked up the Viking Pillow Pet and used it for my night’s stay. I didn’t want to give it back. It was soft and cuddly and I slept great. It scrunched up perfectly for my head. I wallowed in its softness. I wanted to take it home. I tried to talk my granddaughter out of this pillow, after all they have more. It didn’t work.

I came back home to my regular pillows. I like feather pillows but a couple of years ago they decided they didn’t like me and they added to my discomfort with my nose at night. I had to switch to foam pillows but I never could find one that let me sleep like a baby. I tried all sorts of brands. I finally settled on a Sleep Number pillow that I do like because it has air inside. I can adjust it to be harder or softer. I must admit I haven’t tried the My Pillow. That was going to be my next step to a better night’s sleep.

Every time I visited my son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren I asked for the Pillow Pet. Perhaps it also because I have never gotten over my love of stuffed animals. I have given most of my stuffed pals away over the years but there are some that forever will live in my heart and my home, such as my first teddy bear. He is now at least sixty years old but I can’t call him cuddly because bears in the olden days were cute but kind of hard.

I have taken quite a ribbing because of my love for the stuffed creatures over time. Apparently as an older adult, my love for these cute stuffed creatures is supposed to go away. It didn’t happen in my case.

Christmas came along and I had forgotten my request when asked what I wanted for Christmas. Most people in my family hadn’t taken me seriously anyway. My grandchildren did. I was so excited when I took Peaceful Bear out of the box. Peaceful Bear has given me a good night’s sleep. Not only that, when I look at peaceful bear he makes me feel better. When I am sad or tired I usually snuggle a live cat but now I can also hug Peaceful Bear. His colors brighten my mood.

If you are an adult reading this, I give you permission to huggle and snuggle with a soft and cuddly stuffed creature, although my permission doesn’t mean a thing. I don’t have authority to give permission on huggling and snuggling with a stuffed animal friend.  I can advise you to find one that speaks to your heart. Feel it’s softness as you take a nap, snuggle in for a good read or a good television show or use the Velcro strap and let it adorn your bed or your couch. It might even make a good companion for your cat or dog to snuggle on. Like Mikey from the old Life cereal commercials, try it, you might like it.

Peaceful Bear makes me feel peaceful. Mother Teresa said that peace begins with a smile. Peaceful Bear also makes me smile and how can anyone go wrong with that?

Are You Ready For Christmas? Or Not?

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Manger scene under the Christmas tree in Ely C...

Manger scene under the Christmas tree in Ely Cathedral (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Column: Something About Nothing, by Julie Seedorf

“Are you ready for Christmas?”

That question seems to be something that I ask frequently. Of course people respond with shopping stories, Santa stories and family get together stories. I do the same thing. As I was contemplating writing this column for the week of Christmas I reviewed the conversations I have had with people throughout the week including my grandchildren. Then it hit me. All my conversations have been about the materialistic things of Christmas.

I must admit I am not hustling and bustling this Christmas. I have decorated my house. I have put up my tree, taken down my tree because of the cats and put up a smaller tree. I have listened to Christmas music on the radio and I feel the excitement of the coming week. I have to finish my crafty projects and gifts. I have a little shopping to do for my grandchildren but they are easy things. I am in the midst of working on Christmas cards and maybe by the time you read this some of them might be in the mail. I am not my usual hyper Christmas self. I am enjoying the season because of it. The commercial part of my Christmas is almost ready.

But am I ready for Christmas? I don’t think I have contemplated the right reason we celebrate this holiday. So, no, I am not ready for Christmas.

Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus on Dec. 25. We may go to church before that day to prepare for the actual day. Or not. We may read “The Christmas Story” to our children and grandchildren. Or not. We may take the time to sit in silence and remember that night so long ago that leads to more Christian Holidays, Good Friday and Easter that happen in our spring. Or not. We may take the time to realize the roots of the tradition that we call Christmas. Or not.

Somewhere, somehow, we spend more time thinking about what we are going to buy someone for Christmas, what we are going to eat and how we are going to spend the holiday than we do thinking and feeling about the story that has been told to us through the ages, the birth of Christ. This tiny baby has gotten lost in the tinsel and the wrapping paper and the ribbon.

We may take the time to go to Christmas Eve services and if they run long we are impatient because there is more fun waiting for us at home. Many churches don’t have Christmas Day services anymore because attendance was so low. Could it be dinner preparations were more important?

Most stores are still closed on Christmas, unlike Thanksgiving, but I imagine that trend will change with time when that tiny baby born in a manger is forgotten some more. No, I have not taken the time to get ready for the birth of Christ and if I think about Christmas in that way, then I am not ready for Christmas.

Perhaps there are ways we can be ready in the midst of the tinsel and tree lights. We can look into the face of a tiny child and see the goodness and beauty in them. We can look into the face of a person we normally would not take the time to greet and see the hunger for acceptance in their face. We can take the time each day to find that tiny baby in the people we meet. We can drop a few coins in the Salvation Army kettle. We can look around us and be grateful for the freedom of religion. We can reach out our hearts and touch someone that isn’t seeing the joy of the season that we see in the lights and the music and the merriment of food and family.

I enjoy the sights and sounds and fun of Christmas. My Christmas wish for you, is for moments in the midst of the merriment to remember the reason for the season and to feel the peace and the joy that those moments may bring.

Some of my readers added a few Christmas wishes too:

“My Christmas wish is for peace in the world and safe return home for our troops.” — Mary Stenzel

“My wish would be for tickets home for Christmas. We would love to be with family for the holidays and haven’t seen snow since 2010!” — Alissa Bruss Ellingson, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

“My wish this year is that my many family members who are suffering illness, shall all improve, and hopefully we will have some healing and cures.” — Gina Nelson

“My one wish is our family all get together and enjoy each other’s company.” — Cecile Schnebly

And I will end with this quotation from Sunday school lesson book author Roy L. Smith:

“He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.”

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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.