This is the last day to make your list and check it twice. No fun to sit down at the table and find you forgot to take the turkey out of the freezer.
For our home it means to double check the table to see that everything is as it should be, complete with fresh flowers and candles, Christmas crackers in place at each setting and a small stocking filled with chocolates, candy cane and baby mandarin oranges for our guests to enjoy.
Turkey is brought up (having been thawing for a couple of days), ham on the counter, tourtiere done, potatoes done, turnips done. Peas and corn ready to be cooked tomorrow, along with the cornbread side dish and dressing.
Silky butternut squash soup is done and must be brought up, creme fraiche has been made. Buns will come out of the freezer tomorrow.
Good! Now, dust the furniture, clean the bathrooms until they sparkle, put some fresh flowers on one side of the sink and maybe a small Christmas decoration. Vacuum the house and you are set.
From the time I was 3 years old, my father took the family out for dinner as his gift to us. He did this to showcase the work my Mom would be doing on Christmas day and he was saving her cooking dinner. It was a tradition he carried on almost until his passing and Don has now carried the torch. It is a simple gesture for sure for some, but it is engraved in my heart forever. We always had a ‘special’ coffee, he and I and I always seem to miss him more than ever at this time. The same with my Mom. She made a dressing for the turkey and in 60 plus years of marriage, she never once tasted it and my Pop loved it.
Pop always peeled the potatoes, carrots, turnips and set them aside in water. That was his ‘job’ lovingly done each and every year. He was never asked – he just did it.
My check list is now done except for one thing. Never forget the reason we celebrate this time of year, regardless of your choice of religion; the homeless, those left alone or living in horrific conditions, just say thank you and pray for a better world and on behalf of Don and myself Merry Christmas, and Blessings for a year ahead that sees your dreams and hopes come to fruition.
Mother’s Day 2012
Mother’s are a special kind of human being. Some are good…some not so good…some super special but all are Mothers. To be a mother I feel you are chosen for reasons unknown or unspoken for that particular child given you.
We are given hearts that expand with every movement, word, gurgle, laugh, hug or kiss. We have broken hearts when our child is hurt or says hurtful things to us when they really don’t know what else to do.
We go every step of the way: kindergarten, Grades 1 thru 12, perhaps College or University or trade…..always watching from a distance to catch them when they fall or are hurt because of a lost love or dying friend, question them to understand their thinking on a choice made and encourage all the way in what they do and do well.
I ache so much for my daughter who lives far away and a mother who has since left us for a better home with her beloved husband (my dad). We remember all the times we have shared and hope to continue sharing.
Yup! Mom’s are special people. I am one and know that only I could love my child with the fervor and intensity that I do; only I could pray every day for safety in all actions she takes, wisdom in her thinking, and cry when we don’t communicate more often, fully knowing we love each other.
When we moved away from my parents, I never realized just how much we were missed, even though we spoke daily for 20+ years.
To one and all, Happy Mother’s Day and may God Bless each and every one with riches and treasures greater than what money could ever purchase.
.