You can touch the dust, Just don't write in it.

This is part of one of the gag gifts my mom got for Christmas. Mom has this 'thing' about dusting pictures. She had to do it all the time as a little girl. Naturally, we didnt have a lot of pictures sitting around when I was a kid. One or two sure, but not the hordes of knick knacks and such many people have. So for Christmas my Aunt gives my mom and her sister framed copies of pictures when they were kids. This caption was indentically framed in the box with mom's pictures.

This brings me to my current point for this post. What silly traditions does your family have at Christmas time?

Sure, we all get together and things like that, but I'm talking the strange things. For Example: In our family, there are several running gags. There is a pair of pea green socks roaming around that don't show up every year. Just about the time you think they're lost, *poof*, they magically appear in your gifts. There's a funny looking hat floating around too. Another strange thing that you have to watch for if you celebrate a holiday with us: A package that's not what it looks like. This comes in two variants: Size matters not and Open before professing your liking.

Size matters not is obvious. The size and shape of the box don't necessarily correspond to the size of gift inside. The best example of this is the year my grandmother got a great big box of nothing. It was a 19 inch tv box that in the end turned out to be a ring box with a note "Just what you wanted for Christmas, a great big box of nothing". Grandma was not amused.

Open before professing your liking. This one is a bit less devious. It stems from reusing boxes from gifts received to pack gifts to be given. This only becomes humorous when you realize that we actually had a family friend send a 'thank you' note for the coffee maker. Problem was that even though the box (in really good condition) was from a coffee maker, the gift was a stained glass lamp. What made this even more humorous was finding out later that the bride returned the coffee pot to Sears as that was the only place she could find selling that brand. Before she left the store, she got paged ove the intercom to come back to the check out stand. The clerk told her she may want to look at the gift before returning it. It's funny for all of us now, but she was rather embarrassed at first.

So what kind of silly stunts do you and your families do to each other at Christmas?

The End of the Year Approaches

A reflection of memory.

Looking into this Holiday week, I see a reflection of the year gone by. Like looking into a finely polished mirror, It reflects the good and the bad equally showing only the surface and lacking the true depth in its clarity. How, sometimes I wish my own memory worked that way, remembering only the glancing images passing by.

It has been an interesting year. A year which I'm not sure is worth remembering, yet a year that has made progress from the years before. Does that make sense?

Work has been about the same all year. I got to travel some, looks like I'll be travelling a bunch more soon. In general, my personal life has basically been on a hum drum even keel. Finances still suck, but I've been able to maintain. Can't say I'm making a lot of headway, but I guess my ship isn't sinking as fast now. I can't say that I recall any grand great things happening this past year for me. Relationships are still at a standstill. My friends that I call true friends are still true. The wishy washy ones, well, still are. I'd like to say I've have developed that special relationship I've been looking for.To be honest, I've spent so much time alone, I don't know if I even would recognize her standing in front of me. So if you've walked by expecting more than I've given, slap me upside the head so I'll snap out of my stupor. Thank you.

Mom battled cancer and won. Interesting how the worst thing to touch your life becomes the best thing when the doctors say the disease is gone.

Looking to the coming year, what do I see? More of the same, I guess. I guess I'll have to wait and see.

*taps on the monitor glass*

I wonder sometimes, which side of this thing am I really on?

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

The results came back negative!!

My mother has been taking chemotherapy for very aggressive breast cancer since Spring. She had a full pet scan last Thursday to verify if there was any indication of cancer left in her system. She went in for her scheduled chemo treatment today and was informed that she doesn't have to have chemo anymore!

She will go every three weeks to have her Herceptin shot, but that doesn't have the nasty side-affects of the chemo. She will still continue to have tests to verify that Herceptin is doing its job and not causing any heart irregularities. Tests, we can live with. The chemotherapy is very disruptive to the person taking it. Over time as it accumulates in the body, chemo also builds up its side affects. Mom was starting to have trouble with the smells of food cooking bothering her. She never did lose all her hair.

This is a great Christmas gift. I don't get very emotional around her because she has enough to deal with. I wait until I'm here at home by myself it has me down. This is one bit of news that we've received about her cancer that is GREAT!

Thoughts on December

December, the month of joy and sorrow, the month of cheer and pain.

I look around these last couple of days and think to myself about the different ways people view the upcoming holidays. As the lights and decorations begin to illuminate the houses, they bring a warm feeling, a sparkle if you will, to my heart. I have been fortunate to spend the Christmas holidays with my family.

We have been known to have 2 or even 3 Christmas get togethers so that everyone can be together. Growing up, Christmas day was busy. We rotated who would host Christmas between my 2 Aunts houses (Mom's side), my Grandparents (Mom's side), and our house. It was a tradition that we opened gifts Christmas morning, ate lunch, then Mom, Dad and I piled in the car and went to visit Dad's side of the family for the afternoon. It didn't matter what the weather or how we felt, off we would go. We would have dinner there and exchange a few gifts. The only year I can not recall going to both Granparents houses on Christmas day was the year we went to Florida for Christmas.

As I grew older, things changed. Grandparents passed away. Family schedules split up the traditional gatherings. The kids grew to adults and moved away. Time became the director of our lives instead of tradition. Happy times became necessity in order to get to see loved ones over the holidays. Sad thoughts of missed loved ones gone from our lives sometimes filled the holes left by traditional events lost to time.

I look back and understand now that I had it pretty decent growing up. I think of friends whose family's divorced, people I know who lost loved ones around the Holidays. I understand their sadness brought to the front by the twinkling of the lights and the sounds of good cheer. You see, my family too is not imune to lose loved ones over the Holidays. People/relatives of mine always seem to die at one of two times; when we are away on a family vacation or around deer hunting season. My Uncle Gene actually died over his deer in the woods during hunting season.

Do I dread the Holidays because of my losses? No. Time has healed some of those wounds. I turn to fond memories to help ease the hurts that still exist. I wish I could share that ability with others. I see so many people who have it so rough emotionally at this time of year and wonder what hurts could run that deep to turn them so bitter.

So remember, when you feel down during the holidays, when you feel like the world is caving in on you, remember the good times, the good people that touched your life. Let the light of the happy times burn away the darkness and sadness of their loss, for as long as you remember the good times you shared, lost loved ones are never far away!

-Happy Holidays!!!