Christmas Adam

Today is the day before the day before Christmas, so Abbey has declared that it is "Christmas Adam." I guess because Adam came before Eve. I thought that was pretty clever. It has been a great day - no migraine, not much elbow pain, and I got a FULL night's sleep. It is amazing what I can accomplish when I get enough sleep and don't have debilitating pain. Tonight we had our annual Reilley party with our good friends the Reilleys. They are so great and we have known them for a very long time. This annual party started eighteen or nineteen years ago and it has survived all the changes and bumps our two families have been through. Lori and I have known each other since I was in elementary school. We were in the same ward when my family lived in the Granger 14th ward. She is a devoted friend and has called me EVERY day this last year. It has been her way of helping me through a tough year while I have battled my on-going depression. I am so thankful for her friendship and devotion. She is an inspiration to me. I am blessed to have her in my life. I am very blessed to have so many in my life who love me! I love this part of Christmas - appreciating the best kind of gifts I have been given. This life is amazing and wonderful, and as Abbey has pointed out, it all started with Adam.

Anti-Social or Pro-Peace?

Last night Brett and I opted out of the neighborhood Christmas party. This morning I opted out of the neighborhood cookie exchange. It is almost a relief to say no to something. The hectic schedule of the holidays has turned my life into a "have to." I want to fill my holidays with the things I WANT to do, the things that are most important. This morning I just thought that sitting with a bunch of women who are trying to impress each other with their fabulous recipes, immaculate grooming, and slim figures was going to be more than I could take, especially because I had not made my contribution to the exchange. Because I have been hobbling around from a broken toe and I'm so tired it hurts to hold my head up, none of my Christmas preparations are done. My daughter Kristy was shocked when I told her I hadn't bought one gift yet. She said, "That's a first mom!" It really isn't, but I don't think she has ever paid attention before to how prepared I have ever been for Christmas. She has always just noticed the end result. She has a different perspective now that she is trying to make everyone's dreams come true on that very important day. Well here is a list of the things I WANT to do this Christmas:
1. Enjoy some peace of mind, knowing I have thought well of all those I connected with that day.
2. Curl up with a new book in front of the fire.
3. Surprise Brett with some thoughtful gift.
4. Find that perfect gift for the most thoughtful man I know, my son Ben.
5. Have a generous heart when it comes to family relations and assume the best.
Hopefully, there will be room in there to smile, laugh, and relax a little too. I love Christmas, but I refuse to let it rule my life. I have a sneaking suspicion that the Savior doesn't want that either. I think he would rather we delete the worldly diversions from the season and focus on eternal endeavors. I think the Savior's adversaries are very thrilled about what Christmas has become, even for very religious people. I won't let it happen to me and my family. I must be the voice of heaven and whisper reverence so that there will truly be PEACE in my little corner of the kingdom. Maybe that's not being anti-social but pro-peace!

A Wise Christmas

We went to Temple Square this last Monday to see the Christmas lights and drink hot chocolate in a very frigid downtown. We had Christmas music playing on the way, and after that Abbey kept singing, "I'm dreaming of a WISE Christmas." It is so great the "wisdom" she comes up with when she creates an Abbeyism. I asked her what a wise Christmas was. She said she didn't know, so together we decided it is a Christmas where everyone seeks after the Savior like the wisemen did. The next night Abbey was rearranging the Nativity Set. She said, "All the wisemen are in order now." I asked her what that meant, and as she pointed to each wiseman she said, "This one is gold, this one is Frankenstein, and this one is myrrh."

Cleo

Yesterday I said good-bye to a friend I've had for over 17 years: our kitty Cleo. She has declined in health over the last six months, losing her eye sight and a lot of her hearing. She has valiantly "ping ponged" around our home, looking for her food and our comforting laps for quite awhile. Having her here was a link to my daughter Kristy who has grown up and moved away. Kristy picked out this black/grey tabby with big eyes and wispy fur when she was five and so much my little girl. Now Kristy is a wife and mother. My sadness at letting Cleo go was intensified because it made the reality of Kristy's absence all the more final.

We have all cried for our loss, but rejoiced for Cleo's restored heavenly body. When Abbey said the blessing on the food last night she said, "Heavenly Father, please bless Cleo. And bless her with extra birds to chase." That pretty much summed it up.

As I held Cleo in her last moments I marveled at her life and how small her body is in comparison to all she gave our family. Her spirit is so much more than the soft body I held, so much more than the wet nose I stroked. Cleo is a joy and some lucky Heavenly Being is enjoying her purrs and unconditional love right now.

Our lives go on and somehow seem more precious for having known Cleo and been with her all of her 17 1/2 years. I love my family and I'm so glad there is more than this mortal existence that is so fragile and so imperfect. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for my earthly experience and the simple joys of life. Tonight, according to Abbey, we went to Tithing Sediment." It is good that there are things to count on and things to remind us of our blessings. Paying tithing does that for me, and when Abbey linked it to the earth we live on, it was a reminder to me that what we do on this earth is important, it is recognized and counted, no matter how small, no matter how unflashy it might be. We come from the dust of the earth, but we are also made of the cloths of heaven. There is a beautiful poem by Yeats with that term I think.