Just about an hour or so until the new year. We decided to stay home this evening and have a quiet time, but we spent the day driving down to the shoreline.

We made stops to take photos as the husband gave me a digital camera for Christmas and I really hadn't tried it out yet. He is forever taking photos because he paints from his photos and he is planning on starting some new paintings this week. So now we can take photos together, which was fun.

We ended up having a late lunch at a popular seafood restaurant and ran into some old friends of ours which was a very unexpected surprise!

As we were heading back towards home the sun was setting over Long Island sound and we just had to make a stop to try to capture it before it went down.

It was ferociously windy and cold by the water so a stop at Starbucks for some hot coffee and tea hit the spot before we made our way back.

We arrived home and welcomed our little "grand-dog" Tucker whom we are dog sitting tonight.

A very Happy 2k8 (urban word for today) to all!!!

Work, Read, Blog, Work

Today is an absolutely beautiful sunny and warm day. Snow all melted and so mild and muddy out there. Temp is 43 degrees, but it feels higher.

I took my son down to the train station this morning as he was heading out to NYC to meet a friend and then take off for up state New York. Seems like he just got home and he is off again till New Year's Day. He is a traveler and adventurer, no grass growing under his feet. He is so different than the rest of us.

And so my house is quiet again for a few days and we will adjust to the empty nest once again. In return for the ride to the train station, he willingly called me at all his connection points, because he knows I don't relax when he is traveling. Roots and wings... I try to provide that, but I know I tug at those wings, probably a wee bit too much.

My aunt was off having tests today at the hospital and may come home. We are just waiting for the call before we head up there either to visit or bring her home.

Today I decided to rearrange all of my kitchen cabinets to make room for the new glida+ stor that I purchased yesterday. It is a great compact storage system, by the way. So my kitchen is filled with all kinds of piles of things that will go off to the garage or Good Will in an effort to make things more organized around here. The husband will not be able to find anything tonight.

In between working on the cabinets I have been breaking away to read my book, Eat, Pray, Love. It was so nice outside that I swept away all of the Mimosa tree twigs and seeds off of the deck from the wind storm the other night, and sat outside to read. ( The son just called again. On the second train heading towards Jersey, now.) I love reading in natural light, it is so much kinder to these fragile eyes.

Oh how I am loving this book, I can't read it now without a highlighter next to me, because there is so much I want to go back to. The book provokes so many feelings that I can not even sort them out, but every once in a while, my eyes tear up and my heart bursts with emotion.

That would be my little joy for today.

Thursday ramblings

I took the day today to go shopping on my own and spend the gift cards that I received for Christmas. I had a nice afternoon browsing around Barnes and Noble bookstore. It always surprises me how expensive books are! When I walked into the store I was thinking I could get a bundle of books with my card and ended up with only 3 and a couple of other small items and ended up owing them money. It adds up so quickly.

I am excited about the books I picked out: The Tao of Daily Life, Everything I Need to Know I Learned from Other Women, and Inventing the Rest of our Lives;Women in Second Adulthood. It was funny because I had other books in mind when I walked in, but I will check out the library for those.

First I need to finish the book my son got me for Christmas, Eat, Pray, Love, before I can start the others. I am enjoying that book immensely! What great writing! I will write more about it when I finish it.

After the bookstore, I stopped for some lunch. As I was leaving the restaurant the receipt caught my eye. The cashier gave me the Senior Citizen discount. I am not a Sr. Citizen yet, but since I no longer dye my hair people take me for one. The last couple of times I went to Kohl's they asked me if I was a Sr. Citizen and the cashier last night said to me, " I know you don't look it, but are you?" I could tell she did not want to offend me, but also did not want to cheat me, just in case. Hard spot for her to be in. I didn't even know that Sr. Citizens get an automatic 15% off!

The cashier today didn't ask me, she just gave it to me, but I didn't even realize it. Maybe I should wear a button that says I am too young for a Sr. Discount.

I was out all after noon and when I came back I found out that my 80 year old aunt was rushed to the hospital with chest pains. They admitted her and will do more testing tomorrow. We were all together on Christmas Eve and she didn't feel well then, but did not say anything. She never wants to burden us with her problems and she does not have any children or a husband to help her out. I will take my mother to see her tomorrow and we will do our best to attend to her needs.

Good night!!

The Hustle and Bustle of the Christmas

A whirlwind of activities has come to a close.

On Christmas Eve we visited my cousin's home along with all the aunts, uncles, and cousins from my mother's side of the family. There are now over 50 of us, enjoying a great deal of kissing, hugging, laughing, and eating. The Christmas Eve menu has changed over the years. Back in the day the aunts put out the traditional Italian Christmas Eve spread, that included mostly fish. Baked stuffed shrimp, octopus, calamari, sausage and peppers and other delights.

These days we try to to have less food so that the preparations don't take so long, but hey we are Italian, so scaling back is hard! This year there was pizza, pesto, meatballs, shrimp cocktail, stuffed mushrooms, salad, calamari, to name a few and an assortment of desserts.

There are some cousins that I only see now on Christmas Eve, so we all count on that once a year to connect. The night goes by so fast, and it is not hardly enough time to talk to everyone, but you feel that connection when you hug hello and good-bye and give each other that extra squeeze to communicate the love that you feel towards one another.

The best part for me was that all our children were hanging out together downstairs playing Mad Gab and having a ball. All ages... from 10 to the adults.

I love that my grown up children still enjoy going to Christmas Eve, and that they appreciate our heritage and family.

Now that the family has grown so much, there are not many houses that can accommodate all those people. I could never squeeze in 50 people in my house, so I have never had the privilege of hosting. But as we look for our next home, it is a dream to buy a home with enough space to have all of my family over for Christmas Eve.

On Christmas morning, we open our gifts together as a family and have a big breakfast of home-made waffles and sausages and eggs. After admiring all of our gifts, it is time to get to work on Christmas dinner!

Christmas Day was always spent at my in-laws' home, but the past few years it has been at my house. This year she really wanted to have it at her home again so we offered to make the turkey and stuffing and bring it up to her house, so this would be one less thing she would have to do. The rest of the family would arrive early and help her with the other dinner preparations.

We had a wonderful sit down turkey dinner with all of the trimmings and topped it off with a flaming plum pudding, and the best chocolate and peanut butter truffle ever!

Today we just plan to take it easy. I have a Feldenkrais class later and other than that no plans other than hanging out here and maybe visits from some family members.

Peace on Earth

If as Herod, we fill our lives with things, and again with things; if we consider ourselves so unimportant that we must fill every moment of our lives with action, when will we have the time to make the long, slow journey across the desert as did the Magi? Or sit and watch the stars as did the shepherds? Or brood over the coming of a child as did Mary? For each one of us, there is a desert to travel. A star to discover. And a being within ourselves to bring to life.

-Author Unknown

From Simple Abundance

Sarah Ban Breathnach

Christmas Adam

www.urbandictionary.com

Word of the day, Christmas Adam.

The day before Christmas Eve. Since Adam was created before Eve, and the need to be equitable in the holiday season, Christmas Adam creates further anticipation of Christmas Day.

When is your family coming to our place? On Christmas Adam and leaving New Year's Day.

Christmas Adam is the last chance to prepare for the Christmas Eve party.

_ We always called this day, Christmas Eve, Eve. But it will be Christmas Adam from now on!

Pajama Day

A friend of mine told me about one of her family traditions called pajama day. It is held the day after Christmas and her close family members come over and they hang out in pajamas, eat leftovers, play board games and watch videos. I thought that was such a cool idea, and something I would love to start in my family.

Does anyone else have a favorite holiday time family tradition?

The day

This morning we went to the funeral of our friend's husband. So sad. At the end of the mass, the priest led the congregation singing, God Bless America, because the deceased was a Veteran from WWII. The priest said that he knew it would please F. very much if we all sang it. I got very choked up and it was difficult to sing the song, but it was beautiful to hear.

We didn't go to the cemetery, because I needed to get back to work. It was hard making the transition from funeral to work, and one of my colleagues came in and talked to me for awhile. Then I had to dive in to my work and catch the day up.

I interviewed the sweetest girl today for our program. When she talked about how much she wanted to learn and how she loved every subject, her face lit up like a Christmas tree. I never met a child so happy about school. It made my day, because so many of the kids I see have struggled so hard with learning issues or mental problems that they just end up hating school.

The teachers are going to love having her, and just wait until they hear that she asked for lots of homework!

Monday, Monday

Today was the third Monday in a row with a delayed opening for school. We ended up with more ice than snow and it made for very tricky traveling conditions this morning.

The day flew by with all my appointments rescheduled to later in the day or for tomorrow. Everyone is trying to get in this week before Christmas vacation and I am jumping through hoops to accommodate people.

After work we had a small celebration to open up our secret Santa gifts and have some appetizers. It was a nice gathering, but I kept checking my watch for the time, because I needed to leave early to attend the wake of the husband of a close friend who suddenly passed away last week after a brief illness.

I am taking a few hours off tomorrow morning to attend the funeral as well. I never used to take time off for funerals unless for family, but I noticed that other people take off time for things I wouldn't dream of, so I decided not to be so strict with myself. I really want to be there for my friend, and I know she will appreciate it.

I was sad to hear that Dan Fogelberg passed away. When I got into my car and turned on the ignition, "Same Old Lang Syne" was playing on the radio.

I always liked that song.

Christmas in the Park

Last night we took a drive through the park in our town that has the most beautiful Christmas lights display. We brought the camera, but most of the pictures did not come out.

There are thousands of lights lit up around the park. All kinds of animals set back in the woods, owls in the trees, stars hanging from the tree branches. A bandstand with decorated Christmas trees and other beautiful lights. Every year they add to it so it is fun to see what is different about the display this time around.

All the cars creep through the park admiring the lights and there are children standing on the side lines singing carols. Christmas really starts for me when we drive through there.

Cross Roads

I realized last night that I am really bored. I work, come home and basically hang out lately. I am getting very addicted to this computer so much so, that I haven't read a book in a while.

I recently finished grad school, and for two whole years that kept me so busy. I had tons to read and write and spent one weekend a month in class. I loved the topics that I studied as they were so mind stretching and I felt so much passion about what I was learning.

It is a surprise to me to find that I am actually missing school. I am feeling like I need something else to replace it, but not sure what direction to go in. I am looking at some on-line classes that sound interesting, and I may explore them more carefully.

If I look deeper into my heart and listen more carefully to that quiet voice inside of me, there is a call to start a program or business of my own. I am not sure what it would exactly look like or how to go about it, I only know that there are ideas floating around my head and I think about them every day.

If I am going to make some changes, then I need to start soon, because life is going by pretty darn fast. I know that most people my age are thinking about retirement. As for me, I want to start something now that will bring me satisfaction and purpose as I go into retirement.

Maybe it is time for me to be still and start listening closer to that voice that is telling me I can do it.

Long Day's Journey

The husband finally pulled into the driveway. It usually takes him about a half hour to get home from work. Today, a record FOUR hours to get home. Good thing they had a 12:30 PM dismissal. The weather has been fluctuating between snow and freezing rain most of the afternoon. Even though the severity of the storm was predicted early, he said the roads were not being sanded or plowed.

I am grateful that my family members are home safely, and very relieved I was not out driving in this mess.

I am feeling badly that I can no longer help the husband shovel snow due to my injured knee. It is hard being restricted with activities, but more than that, it is hard having to be completely dependent on others for some things. We have always tried to share chores.

Life is all about adjusting to new circumstances.

I just barely pulled out of my driveway and the flurries began. I was only in the store for about 20 minutes and when I came out there was substantial snow on the roads and I had to scrape off my car. It was a good call to close the schools.

The state is letting out employees at 12:30 P.M. That never happens unless the conditions are going to be bad. They are predicting 1-2 inches an hour! All the colleges and many businesses are also calling an early dismissal.

It is nice to be all cozy in my house wrapping gifts and making lunch, but I won't relax until all loved ones are home safely.

Waiting for snow

There is not one snowflake falling, but school is closed. The wintry weather is supposed to start around 1:00PM. There have been times when schools have been closed and not a flake of snow falls, so it will be interesting.

I am heading out to do some shopping before it starts to snow.

Miracle on Main Street

The is a true story that happened about 20 years ago when we took our children to see Santa Claus at a department store downtown.

We first took the kids to see the Festival of Lights which was held on Constitution Plaza every year. The whole plaza would be ablaze in white lights. At the time, it was the most elaborate Christmas light display around our area.

Later we walked to G. Fox and Company one of the biggest department stores downtown. Since so many people were walking around the city that evening enjoying the light display, it was odd to find G.Fox practically deserted.

What happened next is what our family calls the Christmas Miracle.

Since no one was in the store we decided to take the children to Santa's Workshop for their yearly visit with Santa. As we approached the workshop we were shocked to see that there was no line and no other children waiting to sit on Santa's lap. There was Santa all alone waiting for some children.

Our then 6 year old son Aaron, quite accustomed to the ritual, climbed right up onto Santa's lap. Our little 2 year old backed off, not knowing what to make of this big, bright, and fury man. He sure was an authentic looking Santa.

The first question Santa asked my son was, "What do you do to help out in your family?" I was a bit surprised by this approach and so was my son. As Aaron told Santa how he helped in the family, Santa lovingly patted his arm, gave him a gentle hug and said, "I love you." My son was beaming. After all, he had loved this man all of his life.

Santa then asked Aaron to do him a special favor. He told him that on Christmas Morning before he ran to see what was under the tree, he wanted him to first go to his parents and hug them for they loved him more than anything in the world. My son listened intently with his eyes big and wide, careful not to miss a word. Next Santa asked him to pray for all of the children in the world who were not as lucky as Aaron and did not have the love in their lives that he had.

My husband and I stood by. I had a huge lump in my throat and tears in my eyes, as did my husband. I kept looking at Santa trying to see a man behind the costume and found I couldn't separate them.

The very last thing Santa asked was,"What can I bring you to make your Christmas special?" Certainly this was the question my son had been preparing for!

When he finished talking Aaron jumped off of Santa's lap and came running over to us, bursting with excitement. He pulled me aside and said,"Mommy, I think this Santa is the real one." I agreed.

As we were leaving, my son noticed Santa's cane leaning in the corner behind Santa's big chair. "Look, Mommy and Daddy, his cane, just like in the movie, 'Miracle on 34th Street,' " he cried out.

Santa Claus had made our son's Christmas special by giving all of us the true spirit of Christmas. We just didn't expect to find it at G. Fox & Co.

Favorite ornament

This is one of my favorite ornaments on my tree. It is a tatted lace star and it was made by one of my male high school students. You can't see how it glitters too well from the photo though. Every year I put it on the tree, even though it is a little big for the tree, but that is where I like it to hang.

I wonder what the student is doing now and if he is still making ornaments. We encouraged him to keep it up after he graduated. They are so beautiful and everyone loved them and bought them from him.

If I think of it, I may give him a call and see. I love to get updates on our alumni.

Thursday musings

My weekend starts today! It is my husband's birthday on Saturday, and we always take our birthdays off (or the days close to), so no work tomorrow for either one of us! It is a way to keep our birthdays special and to have something to look forward to all week. We are not sure exactly what we will do yet, but it will be so nice to have a long weekend.

Tonight was our monthly "board meeting" or girls night out. One of my friends was having a Christmas Tree raffle so we went there to check out the trees and help support her center. People donate miniature Christmas trees decorated in a particular theme, and then the center raffles them off.

I am hoping to win the one that was decorated with little baseballs and baseball bats and Red Sox ornaments to give to my son. He would love that. I sure don't need any more decorations here!

After that I took my friend to Stew Leonard's as she had never been there. We selected food from the buffet and took it upstairs to the "hayloft" and had a nice dinner and conversation. We have known each other since middle school, so we go way back. Always good to connect with her as we knew each other when.

Step by step

Today was a great day. I was able to walk with out pain for some of the morning and not limp. Talk about little joys! I had a Feldenkrais class last night and she did some work on my leg, loosening it up. By the end of our session it had loosened up some, but it was still very painful. Come this morning I could tell the difference. She said it would take time, but I will take any amount of progress no matter how small!

Feldenkrais is amazing because the movement is so gentle and ever so slight. You do only what you can do without pain. You visualize your whole body working together while you are moving and you can feel where you are over working your body. It is important to become aware so that you can break the bad habits and learn not to work certain parts so hard.

I have never been very connected to my body, so this is a hard thing for me, and I didn't think I would stick with it. So far, I am liking it and learning so much.

Fiery Monday

The phone woke me up at 6:00 A.M. To my surprise, it was work calling to say there would be a delayed opening today due to the ice storm that came in late last night. I had stopped listening to the weather reports yesterday once the snow tapered off much earlier than expected, and I had no idea that the weather was so severe out there.

Delays are not easy. Our students come from all over the state and the buses straggle in as the conditions are different in every region. The kids are off schedule which makes it difficult for some of them to cope, appointments and specials need to be rescheduled, and the phones ring off of the hook. You get the picture.

To add to the mix today, we had an emergency. The powers lines fell and burst into flames. We had a huge fire burning on the lawn and we lost our power. No phones, no lights, no computers, and a school full of anxious students.

I have never seen anything like this before, the fire ball burned a stark white color, similar to fireworks. The smoke was very thick. It seemed to take longer than usual for the fire department and the electric company to get there, but I think that it just felt long because we were waiting and watching.

We ended up being lucky, although the road was closed for a little while, we ended up with our power back on just as it was time for lunch. We all cheered and clapped when those lights came back on!

Later in the day people went outside to inspect the damage. The asphalt driveway had actually melted and looked like lava from the fire, and they found glass made from the sand and the intense heat. A hands-on science class!

While snow fall is so pretty, and the ice is so beautiful on the trees, it causes such dangerous conditions. There were fatal accidents last night, reminding all of us that it gets wicked out there on those roads. That is why I don't look forward to wintertime.

On a brighter note, Josh Groban's Christmas CD Noel came today. That man has a voice. His singing sends chills up and down my spine and brings tears to my eyes. I highly recommend it for those who are interested!

Snowy Sunday

While I have seen a few flakes a couple of times this winter, I have not seen the steady snow fall like we are experiencing right now! The precipitation is starting earlier than they predicted so it throws a wrench into the hope of a snow day off from school tomorrow. The forecast could be wrong and instead of turning into rain there could be messy conditions by the morning commute which would cancel school.

I never get my heart set on school closings. I always get things ready the night before and plan as if schools will be open. More times than I can count we have been convinced school would be closed only to wake up to a perfectly clear and dry day. Weather forecasters are wrong sometimes and conditions change on a dime around here. I have so many appointments tomorrow that a snow day would back me up so much so that I hope schools are open.

I saw my parents yesterday at the wedding so today we are staying home to decorate the tree and avoid traveling in this weather. It feels nice to have a snowy Sunday at home. I have a homemade chicken soup cooking on the stove, and a banana bread baking in the oven. Throw in some hot chocolate and Christmas Carol music and it sounds like a good day to me!

Quote of the Day

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.
-Hamilton Wright Mabie

What a Difference a Year Makes

"You are the Christmas miracle," I said to my relative, as I kissed him on the cheek when we were departing from his wedding tonight. "Yes, you are right, I am a miracle considering I was in a convalescent home last year at this time," he replied shaking his head in amazement.

He was a very sick man just one year ago as he went back and forth from the hospital into the convalescent home a few times. We were not sure he was going to even make it to see Christmas. I remember visiting him one Sunday after noon and he was just wasting away, so ill with an uncertain diagnosis. He wasn't eating, and even some homemade Italian food that we brought him could not coax him to try a bite.

Christmas was around the corner and the Carolers were there that afternoon singing up a storm up and down the hallways. He lifted his head for a second and he feebly made a movement with his hand that signaled me to close the door so they would not come in. I so understood his despair. He was one of the youngest ones in the convalescent home, it was Christmas time, and he was so very sick that he could not be home alone.

That was then.

Today was his wedding day. He came to the ceremony looking so handsome all dressed up in his finest suit. There he stood; happy, healthy, and whole once again. There they stood, hand in hand ready to start a new life and face life's ups and downs together.

It was a heartwarming and humbling day today, and it just goes to show you that the future is unpredictable.