Month: November 2023

A few years ago, I decided to relinquish my Crazy Christmas Queen crown.  I even mentioned this idea in a column, and my husband (bless his heart) was relieved thinking his prayers were answered.  They were not. 

Christmas begins whirling in my head toward the end of July.  And, when the leaves start to turn brown, and the weather dips below 85 degrees, my Christmas fever rises, and it doesn’t drop until January 1.

 Each New Year’s Day, my resolution is to give up the Christmas crown and grow up.  However, I haven’t reached the over-blown grown-up status yet, nor have I lost those ten pounds I resolved to lose the same day.  

This year, I have learned through some scientific Gendusa knowledge that being a certified long-standing Christmas Candy Cane Crazy Kid is due to a gene embedded in one’s spirit.  I was born with the ability to fail in mathematics but succeed in everything involving Santa, Baby Jesus, wreaths, toys, cookies, and gifts.

The official stamp

I was marked from birth with this capability, and to prove the theory, I was stamped with a birthmark on my left arm in the shape of a Christmas tree.  I hate that it faded after so many years, but I’m glad Mama lived long enough to verify its existence to my children.  

This year, my granddaughter, Avery, is a freshman in college.  I suspected Avery was also assigned the Christmas gene, but until recently, I was still determining if it was a fact. 

“I can’t wait to come to Atlanta for Thanksgiving, Grandma!” She excitedly exclaimed on the phone in October.  She continued, “Are you going to have the Christmas tree up and the house all decorated?  I am past ready for the holidays filled with good food and family!”

Avery called again a few days later.  “Grandma, would you read over an essay I wrote for my English class?” 

“Sure, honey.  Send it on!” I happily replied. 

When I opened the emailed attachment, I laughed out loud. 

“Do you Believe in Santa?”

Yes, she inherited the gene, and after I read her thesis, I thought, “Boy, are her future kids going to have fun!”

That is the beauty of the Christmas Crown.  The spirit of Christmas brings pure joy to all around you. 

Never outgrow Christmas

Those of us who overdo the holidays and go a bit crazy are the ones who didn’t leave the kid in us at the North Pole or lost forever in maturity or age.  We decided to hang on to the magic through our earthly days and share it with those we love.

None of my neighbors or friends are surprised that my tree was up and the house was decorated at the beginning of November.  My husband (bless his heart) still attempts to lecture me on the dollars I spend and the overcooking I do.  Nothing works because I am the official Queen of Christmas, complete with an official faded stamp, crown, and those inherited genes.

All good and perfect things began at Christmas.  Jesus was born and given to us.  He taught us the meaning of giving, kindness, forgiveness, and love.  His birth changed everything about living and dying.  What is there not to celebrate? 

What is there not to love about happiness and cheerfulness?  There isn’t a soul in reader-land who doesn’t love a Christmas story or hearing about a miracle.  It is good for us all to stop and enjoy the blessing of Christmas.  

A bit of magic?

We look at the world and often wonder if hatred and war will triumph over peace and love.  We lose ourselves in the sorrow and desperation that surround us.  Yet, because of Christmas, we are given the opportunity to renew our spirits and our faith.  

I still believe in Santa.  Yep, I never told my children any differently.   The heart of Santa lies within us.  We can still become the giver of gifts to children who need our joy.   We can become what God intended us to be: the provider of hope for others.

  If we replace our dread and despair with the glory of Christmas and share it, we have developed and distributed happiness.

So, the holidays are upon us.  Santa arrives this week amid laughter and song.  Pick up the child within you, take yourself into a Christmas wonderland, and provide joyous celebration wherever you roam. 

You are worth it, and who among us couldn’t use a bit of magic?

Love,

The Crazy Christmas Queen

Every day, a new poll is released by someone regarding different issues in America.   Would you vote for him or her?  Do you believe the economy is the most critical American problem?  Is the country headed in the right direction or not?   Countless polls whose tallies change daily according to what is going on in the news. 

No matter what the polls say about us and how we feel about our society, there is one matter we should agree on…. Thankfulness.  The truth is we are not grateful enough for our blessings.  I mean, none of us… zero, nada, no way, etc.   We can’t vote thankfulness into our world, nor can we convince another to be humbled, but each November, we are reminded to count our blessings.  Does it take a season to remind us to update our appreciation?

If we become more thankful daily, it will cure many of our ills.  One thing is for sure: it would calm our anger and settle our nerves.  Being grateful for the smallest of life’s gifts increases the size of our hearts.  We become more empathetic and understanding.  And the main benefit derived from thankfulness is we see God clearer. 

A year ago

Last year, on Thanksgiving Day, my husband was in a hospital’s Cardiac Care Unit recovering from open heart surgery.   The week prior was a whirlwind of negativity.  He didn’t know there was a problem with his heart until an intelligent physician questioned what we thought was a benign ailment. 

Thanksgiving Thursday was David’s worst day.  A problem arose in recovery due to an erratic heart rate, and for a few hours, I wasn’t so sure about tomorrow.  I spent most of that day staring at a heart monitor, afraid I would miss something significant if I took my eyes off the squiggly lines jumping up and down.  Of course, buzzers blared if something went haywire, but one can never fully trust automation, right?  The polls say some medical equipment might be made in China anyway!

After midnight, I tried to rest near the room’s window, where cool air seeped under the glass.  As I thought about families who had gathered around tables thanking God for their bounty, my prayer that evening was quite simple, “Dear God, get David’s heart rate down!” 

It was nearly 1 am Friday morning when I rose, almost frozen from the seeping air, and walked toward David’s bed, where he was dozing.

A simple prayer

Again, I stared at the monitor.  His heart rate was too high, hovering around 150 beats per minute, and I knew the buzzer would alert the staff at any moment.  “God, please help us!” 

“What does the monitor say?” David woke and asked as he must have felt my panic.  “It’s okay, honey, not too bad.”  I lied, knowing he couldn’t turn to see the actual number on the machine behind him.  Of course, he knew I was lying.

One minute later, I glanced at the numbers again, and his heart rate had dropped to a normal 72 beats per minute.

Folks celebrated last year and thanked God for the feast before them.  They will do the same this year.  The holiday season will arrive on time, and most of us will join the cheer and joy.  

Until last year, I thought I was thankful enough for my life and grateful for the folks in it, but no, I wasn’t.  I am more than thankful to see my husband playing golf or tennis today or getting frustrated when the dust settles on his little red car.

Last Thanksgiving Day, I ate a piece of cheese and drank many cups of coffee.  I didn’t see Santa arrive in a parade, but I watched lines jump on a monitor instead.  I didn’t feel the warmth of family around me but felt cold, damp air seep under the glass.

Beauty is in God’s face

Yet, the beauty of that Thanksgiving Day was I saw God clearly.  How grateful I am for the blessing of life and love and to know that no matter where we are on this Thanksgiving Thursday, there will be God also.

If the Lord were conducting a poll, what would be the questions?  Do we judge others?  Are we influenced by power or kindness?  Do we vote for goodness or evil?  Are we grateful for our blessings?  Is it better to be revengeful or forgiving?

Thank goodness God doesn’t need to conduct polls; He just reads our hearts.  If we remember to be thankful for life and those who share it with us,  we will all see God clearly, and He will lead us where we need to be.

Thanksgiving is a beautiful day, but to be thankful through all our days heals our souls and captures God’s heart.

While we can never do enough to show gratitude to our nation’s defenders, we can always do a little more.”  Gary Sinise

Mr. Sinise is correct; we can always do more to thank our soldiers who line our streets with freedom.  Their sacrifice and courage are often set aside by headlines, political mumbo jumbo, or our personal worlds.  When we become absorbed in our daily routines, we often fail to remember that without them, we would have no political mumbo jumbo or headlines.

Freedom of the press, freedom to vote, and freedom to succeed and worship come at a high price paid for by our past and present heroes.  Our Veterans and fallen soldiers have saved us from ourselves many times over. 

Without independence, we don’t need to look far to see what life resembles.   Women who aren’t allowed to be educated or countries whose daily news events are controlled or censored.  Places where tyrants rule by ego-infused power and armies are fueled by fear.   Lands where children are used as human shields and corruption is apparent.  

Yet, when we do see those who suffer under such evil, do we stop to realize that those who served our nation are the ones who kept us from falling into such horrors? 

Pausing is not enough

We pause to honor our fallen warriors on Memorial Day and our Veterans on their day in November each year.   But pausing is not enough.  Two days is insufficient, and there could never be enough thankfulness. 

Today, 67,495 veterans are homeless.  Furthermore, according to VA Claims Insider, our former military members are two times more likely to become homeless than those who never served.

One million Veterans live below the poverty line, and 4.9 million or 27% of all veterans have a service-related disability.  

A new and troubling report found that 24 veterans per day commit suicide.* Death by suicide is 1.5 times higher than the general population and 2.5 times higher for the women who once served.

So, clearly, after reading those statistics, are two days of gratitude enough?  Is our freedom worth doing a wee bit more?

Our personal divides, our seemingly endless politicizing of everything and everyone, should become secondary to our thankfulness for those who served our great nation.  We must resolve to take care of those who protect us from harm.  We as a nation are obviously not doing enough to protect them. 

Love grows

My love for our service members grew enormously as I aged.  My peers served in Vietnam, and many came home with profound, long-lasting disabilities.  Mental and physical scars accompanied them through life, and those that made it home still grieve for those who didn’t.

These selfless men and women are the best of America.  They continue to serve our nation with dignity, courage, and inspiration. 

On December 6, 2018, a wheelchair-bound World War II veteran rose with help to salute another soldier.  It took all former Senator Bob Dole could physically muster to give a final farewell to his friend and former rival, President George H.W. Bush.  The love of country and their fellow man came before the physical scars they bore.  Ultimately, it was their honor to serve our nation with the class and dignity America should always represent.  

No one who does not understand the sacrifices of those who served our nation and protected our rights should lead our country.   They should never be in Congress or serve in any capacity in government.  With an evident appreciation for our military members, our heroes can maintain hope and avoid dire consequences.

Deliver honor

The best way to honor our Veterans is to live an appreciative life and never undermine their achievements by being insensitive to their needs.   We are still America because of these brave men and women, no matter how self-absorbed we can become or how divided we can be.  As long as they keep up the good fight, we must battle to become better and more appreciative citizens.

 We can open our wallets and hearts and give to those who need our help.  We can demand more support and less rhetoric from our representatives.

So, for more than two days per year, let us do more than pay lip service to our Veterans; let’s unite and care for our heroes.

“Any nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure.”  President Abraham Lincoln.

We must do more; we must endure.

By the time you read this, hopefully, I will be sailing away.  Yes, we are heading on a much-needed mission to find tranquility.  It’s called vacation, and to be honest, I have never been good at those things.  As a matter of fact, I know God left out the ‘relaxation’ gene when he made me.  

When I do go on vacation, I usually feel somewhat guilty or embarrassed because there is something I should have done or forgot to do before I sat down.  Furthermore, it does bother me to go on such a lavish adventure when so many are suffering today. 

It begs the question, “Why am I so blessed?”  If I’m cold, I turn up the heat.  If I am hungry, I grab a snack in the kitchen.  If I am sick, I call the doctor.  It’s all so easy, isn’t it?   The truth is that most of us are spoiled in our American way of life.  It’s pretty cool to be us, but how and why are we so blessed to be us?

Perhaps God chose us to be the caretakers, the reminders, the kind ones who will promote goodwill.   He blessed us with abundance so we could aid others who have no heat, little food, and no healthcare.  The problem for so many is that we cannot for the life of us remember we are blessed!

Ringing any bells?

Shoot, I get mad when I can’t find my glasses, when the oven doesn’t heat faster, or when David hangs his jeans over anything but a coat hanger.   I want to yell when Amazon is late or when I forget to buy snacks at the store around the corner.  I complain about the high price of gasoline but think nothing about the high price I paid for the car, which requires expensive gas.

Ringing any bells out there?

Remember the old song, “If you worried and you can’t sleep, count your blessings instead of sheep.”  Sometimes, I sing that to my mind in the night when tossing and turning accompanies me to bed.  There, I lay in a warm bed under clean sheets with a roof over my head and worry about whether I have the right clothes for my vacation to tranquility! 

I forgot to replace the worry with thankfulness for the shelter over my head and the warmth of a blanket.  And how do any of us find tranquility when thankfulness is missing?  Impossible. 

No complaint

As we watch the wars rage in other countries with horrific scenes of death and destruction, we must realize that our pettiness has no place right now.  Instead of complaining or arguing, let’s praise God for the gifts He bestowed on this scraggly group of people.   Our fights are no comparison to the battles they endure and the hardships they face. 

When we count our blessings, we subtract our worries, and we strengthen our spirits.

  No, I have never been good at vacations, taking it easy, or resting.  However, perhaps I need to watch the moon fall into the ocean or study a cloud that floats in the sky.  Maybe I need to reflect on the presents the Lord gave me, taking the time to value them more.

 “Come to Me, all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”  Jesus said in Matthew 11:28

God must know I need to rest for a bit.  He may have to tie me in a chair, but so be it.  I, like many, must take time to reflect, pray, and count my immense blessings. And when I do, I will be more thankful for the jeans that still hang over anything but a coat hanger.

  I know when we stop to smell the rose or breathe in the fresh air, we renew our souls and clear our minds.  I just wish I could take the rest of the world with me to do the same.