Christmas Chimes by Erma Bombeck

                                 

                                                                         

                                                             

Everything is in readiness.

The tree is trimmed.  The cards taped to the door frame.  The boxes stacked in glittering disarray under the tree.

Why don’t I hear chimes?

Remember the small boy who made the chimes ring in a fictional story years ago?  As the legend went, the chimes would not ring unless a gift of love was placed on the altar.  Kings and men of great wealth placed untold jewels there, but year after year the church remained silent.

Then one Christmas Eve, a small child in a tattered coat made his way down the aisle, and without anyone noticing he took off his coat and placed it on the altar.  The chimes rang out joyously throughout the land to mark the unselfish giving of a small boy.

I used to hear chimes.

I heard them the year one of my sons gave me a tattered piece of construction paper on which he had crayoned two hands folded in prayer and a moving message, OH COME HOLY SPIT!

I heard them the year I got a shoe box that contained two baseball cards and the gum was still with them.

I heard them the Christmas they all got together and cleaned the garage.

They’re gone, aren’t they?  The years of the lace doilies fashioned into snowflakes … the hands traced in plaster of paris … the Christmas trees of pipe cleaners … the thread spools that held small candles.  They’re gone.

The chubby hands that clumsily used up $2 worth of paper to wrap a cork coaster are sophisticated enough to take a number and have the gift wrapped professionally.

The childish decision of when to break the ceramic piggy bank with a hammer to spring the 59 cents is now resolved by a credit card.

The muted thump of pajama-covered feet padding down the stairs to tuck her homemade crumb scrapers beneath the tree has given way to pantyhose and fashion boots to the knee.

It’ll be a good Christmas.  We’ll eat too much.  Make a mess in the living room.  Throw the warranties into the fire by mistake.  Drive the dog crazy taping bows to his tail.  Return cookies to the plate with a bite out of them.  Listen to Christmas music.

But Lord … what I would give to bend low and receive a gift of toothpicks and library paste and hear the chimes just one more time!

Older Women Rock!

                                                                         

We all know how fast time goes..we have all heard it when we were younger. It never meant much back then, why would it?

When I am outside walking my dog, feeling the wind in my face and enjoying the sun, it takes me back decades. I am grateful for those memories and for the new moments I have now to add to those memories.

I don't feel old. Sometimes I wish people couldn't see your age. Not so much because of my looks, but the way they look at you. The way they see you. There are so many assumptions about older people. 

And there doesn't seem the interest to know us. I loved being around my grandmother. There was always a special feeling when I was with her. I have always gotten along well with older people. There's a connection.

Do what makes you feel good. Listen to music you love, write, walk, if you cannot walk on your own, get someone to take you. If you cannot get outside, watch videos of the outdoors, listen to sounds of the outdoors. Whatever makes you happy.

I made the following video for this blog. I hope you enjoy. Maybe it'll make you smile.

Pennies from Heaven

                                                                                 

                                                 Pennies from Heaven, Thanks Mom!

My mom loved pennies! I remember a few years before she died in 2002, a classmate sent her four pennies. The years of the pennies were from each year they attended high school.
Mom used to love to wrap pennies and give them to my children when they were little.

After my mom died, I stopped into see my dad and he said, "You know, your mother leaves pennies in the strangest places around the house."
I have found pennies many time left by my mom. One day I was taking the dogs outside and noticed butterflies at the end of the driveway. They were beautiful, black with blue spots.
I walked up to them, four of them were on the pavement in a circle, in the center of the circle was a penny. When they flew away, I picked up the penny and thanked my mom.

My youngest daughter was having her first baby, I was with her and so was her mother-in-law. She looked at me and said, "Grandma won't be here to see the baby." I assured her that she would.
A few minutes later, her mother-in-law looked at the floor, picked up a penny and showed it to us. It hadn't been there before, she commented. My daughter and I looked at each other and smiled. I said, "I told you grandma would be here!"
One morning I got up and walked into the dining room with my coffee. On the table directly in front of the two middle chairs, straight across from each other, were two pennies. Now, the night before, all of my children and grandchildren were over for a visit. I had cleared the table and polished it, so I knew the pennies weren't on the table.

I am grateful to find pennies sent by my mom!

****My mom has been gone for 14 years and throughout that time, I have found pennies from her. There is no doubt in my mind that they are from my mom.
I remember her showing me a gift from someone who went to high school with her about 5 years before she died. There were four pennies, one for each year of high school she attended. The person remembered how much she loved pennies!
When my kids were growing up, my mom would give them pennies that she had wrapped. 
After my mom died and I visited my dad, a lot of times he'd say to me, "I find pennies from your mother in the strangest places."

Pennies from Heaven! Thanks Mom!


Marjorie Farrington ©

It's My Bloomin' Birthday!

                                                                         

                                        

                                        Butterflies are free We are too If we choose to be!

Today, I choose to be and I say Happy Birthday to me!

Living in an area where we have had forest fires for almost two months, we really needed rain. This morning I woke up to rain that had fallen all night. What an amazing birthday gift! I haven't seen the skies this blue in awhile. And I heard birds singing, a sound that's been silent for too long.

I find as I have gotten older, I reflect more on the past. Through the years, I learn to let go of negative, painful times, not to give power to those who have hurt me. 

It's important to focus on gratitude. Appreciate life, be thankful that I am here.

Fortunately, I am able to get outside today, where I really do feel free. Feeling the wind, enjoying the sunshine. 

It is my birthday celebration. And I am very grateful.

Reflections of My Life

                 

Reflections of  My Life

                                                 My Bloom Today: Reflections of My Life


This photograph was taken yesterday when I went on a walk with my dog.
Now that I am just a month away from my 59th Birthday, I find myself reflecting on my life.
There's a quote that I love by Barbara De Angelis "Women need real moments of solitude and self-
reflection to balance how much of ourselves we give away."
Through the years, just as most women do, I have not taken time for those real moments as much as I needed. Women tend to put others before themselves. They give away so much of ourselves, eventually, it usually catches up to us, am I right?
I raised three daughters and tried to let them know that it is not selfish to take that time for yourself, just as my mom did with me. I do see them taking some time for themselves, so maybe they did hear me.
I fall into a pattern sometimes, not taking that time for solitude and self-reflection to keep that balance. Once in awhile, I have to remind myself and hear my own words.Please remember to take time for yourself.
The Times of Your Life a song most can relate to...