Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
A great saying from Dear Abby:
A New Year is about to begin, and the less baggage you have to carry into it, the better!
A Reminder to Nurture the Child Within
I was just reminded that sometimes you should pay attention to ‘signs’ that are given to you. I don’t know if they come from a higher power, or angels, or what, I would like to believe that they do. In any case this little story begins with Randy Pausch. In reading his book, The Last Lecture, I was inspired by an article that he carried around with him; it is also on his website. It appeared in the Sun in 1897. At the time that I read this, in his book, it brought me to tears. Recently, I was reminded of it, watching, of all things, a series of commercials for Macy’s, where they quote several lines from the famous letter. And now, as I am going through my desk, readying it for the New Year, I found a print out of it from Randy Pausch’s website. I hope you find as much inspiration from it as I have and remember and treasure that childlike wonder within yourself.
Dear Editor,
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say that 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,
Your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except what 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 our life its highest beauty and joy.
Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. 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 eternal 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 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 that 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 man, or even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view the picture the supernatural beauty and glory beyond.
Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else as real and abiding.
No Santa Claus? Thank God he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, maybe 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the hearts of children.
Written by Francis P. Church in 1897
Dear Editor,
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say that 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,
Your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except what 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 our life its highest beauty and joy.
Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. 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 eternal 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 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 that 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 man, or even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view the picture the supernatural beauty and glory beyond.
Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else as real and abiding.
No Santa Claus? Thank God he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, maybe 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the hearts of children.
Written by Francis P. Church in 1897
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
NOT Feeling Nice Today
Boy oh boy. I am REALLY not feeling nice this evening.
I'm afraid I am unable to complete my Nice Task today. Isn't it amazing how there is always that one person (or two people super-glued at the hip, so they count as one) that is able to turn on your rage switch? I am generally a pretty nice person, but, flip that rage switch, and I have the angriest, sharpest tongue in the West! Blush. There are a couple of people right now, that I am just so angry with. They did a huge injustice to someone, and then tried to rest the blame for it on me, never acknowledging their own cruel intentions. So, I let them have it. The tongue-lashing they received from me was harsh and, I think, warranted, but certainly not very nice and not very Christmas-Season-ish. So, the nice person within, ran away, and will hopefully come back tomorrow and do two nice tasks to make up for today. As for 'those' people, well, I will not say what they can go do. Ü
I'm afraid I am unable to complete my Nice Task today. Isn't it amazing how there is always that one person (or two people super-glued at the hip, so they count as one) that is able to turn on your rage switch? I am generally a pretty nice person, but, flip that rage switch, and I have the angriest, sharpest tongue in the West! Blush. There are a couple of people right now, that I am just so angry with. They did a huge injustice to someone, and then tried to rest the blame for it on me, never acknowledging their own cruel intentions. So, I let them have it. The tongue-lashing they received from me was harsh and, I think, warranted, but certainly not very nice and not very Christmas-Season-ish. So, the nice person within, ran away, and will hopefully come back tomorrow and do two nice tasks to make up for today. As for 'those' people, well, I will not say what they can go do. Ü
Monday, December 15, 2008
It Feels Like Christmas Time
After this weekend, it feels like Christmas time to me now.
-The kids and I have watched the Polar Express movies several times.
-We put up all of our lights outside the house.
-We made a lot of cookies, and ate a lot too!
-We did some shopping for family members.
-We spent too much at the grocery store.
-It’s finally cold here!
The kids and I watched The Polar Express on Friday while I was working. I was trying to really ramp up the spirit of Christmas this Friday. Not only did we watch the Polar Express, but I had also taped some of our favorite Christmas Programs like Charlie Brown’s Christmas, The Grinch, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. The kids loved it, but also wondered if I had taped any new Pokemon cartoons for them…sigh.
We made a family day of it on Saturday, putting up the Christmas lights and doing some shopping. We bought a couple of new props for the front yard, but didn’t over-do it. In fact, on the way home from Walmart, Jon asked if we had crossed the line into Griswald territory. At first, I thought maybe we had, but after we got it all up, I found that it looked great. We even put some cute little snowmen in the kids’ windows on the second floor.
I made Scottish shortbread cookies for Jon, who absolutely loved them. It was a new recipe and I was nervous, but he really loved them, so I am happy. I also made my almond and jelly thumbprint cookies, made with Dad’s homemade black raspberry jelly. They turned out so good! This time I left the glaze off and ended up liking them even more. Then we made sugar cookies and let the kids pick out their shapes, whether or not they wanted sprinkles or frosting, and then let them go to town decorating them. That had a lot of fun doing that, especially when Grandma and Grandpa came over to help.
Best of all, its cold! We have the heater on in our house because it’s cold! Yeah! I know lots of you are cursing my name, but for me, growing up in Arizona, I really appreciate it when the weather represents the seasons a bit more. I like it when Christmas feels like Christmas and not the end of summer.
-The kids and I have watched the Polar Express movies several times.
-We put up all of our lights outside the house.
-We made a lot of cookies, and ate a lot too!
-We did some shopping for family members.
-We spent too much at the grocery store.
-It’s finally cold here!
The kids and I watched The Polar Express on Friday while I was working. I was trying to really ramp up the spirit of Christmas this Friday. Not only did we watch the Polar Express, but I had also taped some of our favorite Christmas Programs like Charlie Brown’s Christmas, The Grinch, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. The kids loved it, but also wondered if I had taped any new Pokemon cartoons for them…sigh.
We made a family day of it on Saturday, putting up the Christmas lights and doing some shopping. We bought a couple of new props for the front yard, but didn’t over-do it. In fact, on the way home from Walmart, Jon asked if we had crossed the line into Griswald territory. At first, I thought maybe we had, but after we got it all up, I found that it looked great. We even put some cute little snowmen in the kids’ windows on the second floor.
I made Scottish shortbread cookies for Jon, who absolutely loved them. It was a new recipe and I was nervous, but he really loved them, so I am happy. I also made my almond and jelly thumbprint cookies, made with Dad’s homemade black raspberry jelly. They turned out so good! This time I left the glaze off and ended up liking them even more. Then we made sugar cookies and let the kids pick out their shapes, whether or not they wanted sprinkles or frosting, and then let them go to town decorating them. That had a lot of fun doing that, especially when Grandma and Grandpa came over to help.
Best of all, its cold! We have the heater on in our house because it’s cold! Yeah! I know lots of you are cursing my name, but for me, growing up in Arizona, I really appreciate it when the weather represents the seasons a bit more. I like it when Christmas feels like Christmas and not the end of summer.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Thanks for our Troops
Go to this website and send a card to one of our troops currently overseas. What a great way to show them we care and are still thinking about them.I want to make the kids some books...
Especially ones that contain their own special stories about when they were born. Check out this website for great, blank, board books.
http://www.blankslatebooks.com/
http://www.blankslatebooks.com/
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