An Unexpected Christmas Memory - Dedicated to my mom - I love you.

(Today's blog was written while listening to the song link attached at the bottom of this blog - Noel: Christmas Eve 1913)

My kids asked me to find a song that they heard on the radio that was sung by the Muppet characters - Kermit the Frog and Fozzi Bear. "Wow" I thought, "the Muppets. I grew up with that show as a kid" and a smile found its way to my face. Now I don't know why, but suddenly I remember a skit that was done on the Muppet Show that appeared back in the late 70's.  John Denver was a guest on the holiday show and he sang a song with the Muppets called the "Peace Carol". Something about the song was very heartfelt and moving to me even through I so young. 

Most of my life as a child revolved around music and television. There are times when I hear a song or smell a smell and it takes me right to the very moment when I first experienced it. I can recall great detail about the  moment and that if I closed my eyes, sometimes I can convince myself I am there. I can remember vividly what I was wearing and doing when I first saw and heard the "Peace Carol" song. I had a huge over sized white bean bag chair I was sitting in and was wearing an extra long flannel nightgown.  I must have been about 11 years old. I had a huge bowl of popcorn that my mother had shaken in a pot on the stove and my dad had brought home for my brother, a birch beer soda, and for myself, a strawberry soda, from Dax's variety general store that used to be on Union Avenue in Laconia N.H.

Our Christmas tree stood proudly and sparkled with a wonder and peaceful glow in the front window of our living room, as the cat was trying to eat the tinsel that dangled close to the floor. I can still smell my mother cooking up one of her delicious confection wonders as it mingled with the fresh sent of our spruce tree. Our living room was adorned with only the light from our Christmas tree, the television, the rays from the adjacent kitchen light, and the flicker of the fire from underneath the solid wood stove door. Outside a great wind howled as the snow was coming down in blankets. To me, Christmas couldn't get any better than that very moment. Little did I know that so much more awaited me in my life and now I get to share the joy of Christmas with my own kids and husband and our families.  Even through my husband plows snow for the state, I'm dreaming of a White Christmas, that will have us stuck at home and he won't have to work.

Below I have written out the words to the song "Peace Carol" and I have also attached a couple of links that have put me back into a Festive spirit for the 2011 Holiday season.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to One and All.

The Peace Carol

The garment of life be it tattered and torn

The cloak of the soldier is weathered and worn

But what child is this that was poverty born?

The Peace of Christmas Day.

The branch that bears the bright holly

The dove that rests in yonder tree

The light that shines for all to see

The Peace of Christmas Day

The hope that has slumbered for two thousand years

A promise that silenced a thousand fears

A faith that can hobble an ocean of tears

The Peace of Christmas Day

The branch that bears the bright holly

The dove that rests in yonder tree

The light that shines for all to see

The Peace of Christmas Day

Add all the grief that people may bear

total the strife and the trouble and care

Put them in columns and leave them right there

The Peace of Christmas Day

The branch that bears the bright holly

The dove that rests in yonder tree

The light that shines for all to see

The Peace of Christmas Day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jt_9ZzMmrtE&feature=related
John Denver & The Muppets - Medley:Alfie, the Christmas tree/It's In Every One of Us

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=givAZ05_wJg

John Denver & The Muppets - The Christmas Wish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRJIS7jBuUM&feature=related
John Denver & The Muppets - The Peace Carol


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rN0El-kUnw
John Denver & The Muppets - Noel: Christmas Eve, 1913

Kindness at Christmas.

With the unexpected snow during our trip to Colorado, and the spectacular display of Christmas lights that adorned the trees of Main Street in Estes Park, I caught hold of that Christmassy time of spirit.  We walked the streets and went into every shop looking for that perfect holiday find. The stores were filled with a heavy sent of cinnamon and cedar and just the right amount of pine garland wrapped in colorful lights in their windows. It mesmerized me and with all the resistance in the world I couldn't overcome being caught in the shock and awe of it all. I was drawn in like a big mouthed bass on an experienced fisherman's line - hook, line and sinker. We were all on a mission to find the perfect gifts for friends and family when low and behold we found the perfect place.

I have to say this one store helped us do just that, The shop was called MOOSELY T's, and it was right on the main street of town.  Awesome store! And awesome owner! She had a way of making you feel as if you had known her all your life and she wasn't afraid of sharing her life with you. She wore a red Santa hat, sweatshirt, shorts and boots. I knew she'd lived there awhile as she was used to the cold weather of November to be able to wear shorts. She had a sparkle in her eye and smiled a genuine smile with every word she spoke. I can't tell you how many times I have gone into stores these days, and that customer service just isn't there, but at MOOSELY's - It's there and then some. We immediately felt at home. We had found so many unique things in her store, that most of our shopping was done there during our stay.  OK we also hit the Taffy Shop where my husband used to go when he was a kid; he suffers from an extreme disorder called O.A.S.T. - Over Active Sweet Tooth. (Smile).

Several times we'd remember someone else on our list that we wanted to get something special for, and we'd go back over and over again to both shops until we were satisfied. Needless to say, we assault our credit cards quite heavenly in these stores, with the exception of Cabela's in Sidney, Nebraska.  It's a great feeling when you can connect with people, even when they are strangers, especially at Christmas time. So if any of you happen to find yourselves in Estes Park, Colorado, be sure to stop at these two stores. You won't be disappointed.  To the owner of Moosely's, many thanks for the black n' white chocolate dipped oversized pretzel's. They were delicious.  Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

We survived the Thanksgiving Holiday...and then some!

I had been fretting for months that my husbands family would not be happy with me due to my recent book I had published. I also feared I would once again be left out in the cold while another family member would treat my husband as the long lost boyfriend and do their fair share of keeping us apart, yes oddly enough this has happened before.  I also worried extensively, as I had said in my last blog, that our flight would be treacherous because of my fear to fly. There was a lot going on in this mind of mine, you name it I feared the worst for the last three months since this trip was planned. As much as my extreme thoughts had me anticipating a trip filled with disappointing moments resembling the movie National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, I found a way to change all that and it rendered our family trip over the Thanksgiving holiday, anything but eventful.  On December 18th, the day we were leaving, I decided that I was not going to worry over anything. Life was going to happen and no matter how much I want to control the outcome so that nobody was hurt or disappointed, I threw caution to the wind and let my guard down once and for all. Doing this was the best medicine that our family of four has been seeking for so many years.  Not only were they happy, it let life fill me with so many moments of joy, happiness and a deeper connection that my husband and I and our boys have needed.

I will say, I couldn't help but wonder when the drama would begin and for each moment that in years past would have resulted in such extreme negative behavior, this time it was just the simple life, quality family time, great conversation and a true inner peace enriched with unconditional love.  This had always been my secret Christmas wish that I longed for, only to realize it had always been there - I just wasn't awake in my mind to see it until now. I had let the hurt of all those moments in years past, constantly dictate my distant personality - I was so tried of feeling so bad for so long, that this idea of changing my worrying ways was the moment in which I found complete peace. At this present time as the words in my thoughts find their way to my pen and paper, I shed tears of happiness and contentment. I can honestly say that my fear of the changes in my life had actually been the fear of would I ever get home in  my mind to be the wife, mother, friend and lover that had been trapped inside me, doing everything and anything to be heard, to be seen, but was suffering inside through my own invisible destruction. I guess the old saying - If ma'ma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy, really was true.

I sit here today, joyful of the moments that I was apart of and memories that will be forever etched into our souls. I can still hear the laughter of my boys and husband as we drove to places such as Sidney, North Platte and Scottsbluff Nebraska. The excitement that filled our SUV as we drove up the mountain to enjoy a weekend in Estes Park, Colorado where we experienced a grand snow during the "Catch the Glow" Christmas parade in Estes Park. Our trip was one of pure relaxation and fun. None of us wanted to come back to the world of reality, but like all things fun, our trip would soon end and we'd be flight bound back to the east coast. But I am happy to report that life has been just as grand at home as it was on our trip. For me, I can honestly say - Hello life, I've missed you. Thank you for bringing me back to reality and helping me see that what is important are the people around me, not the material things we have. That we don't know how long we have in life and to make the most of every day. If you are occasionally dealt with some negativity from others, learn to deal with it, but not consume it. People are who they are and some will never learn the value of changing within themselves and there is nothing you can do to fix it.  I have also found that if you love yourself, than you can show love to those who are important in your life. All my love to the three special men in my life - My husband Ron, and my two sons, Ryan and Reese.



 

 



 






 



 











"Life's not the breaths you take,
but the moments that take your breath away"