In August my sister suddenly became techno-savvy and told me that she had a page on Facebook. She had just started and wanted to know if I would like to open an account and be her "friend". She really needed more friends, she said. Facebook? I was under the impression that it was a sort-of sleazy spot where young kids posted somewhat inappropriate pictures and filled the page with suggestive writings. That didn't sound like my sister at all. And it certainly didn't sound like me.
She said that I was thinking of Myspace and Facebook wasn't like that at all. Please, she said, I need some friends. My daughter told me not to worry... lots of "old people" had a Facebook page. Thanks a lot.
So she convinced me. I didn't want my poor sister to be friendless so, feeling somewhat naughty, I signed up. I signed up so she could have friends and suddenly she collected 29 friends and all I had on my pathetic page was her.
But a funny thing happens when you get on Facebook. All of the sudden you get "friends". And more friends. And pretty soon you become addicted. And you start trying to talk other people into joining Facebook because you are having so much fun with it.
I am continually surprised by the friends that pop up. There are friends from work and family friends. Ocassionally there are "friends" who you never heard of. They just like to collect volumes of friends whether they know them or not. Those I turn down. The friends that are the most fun, by far, are those friends that you knew in high school or college. Friends that you had lost track of for 40 or more years. It is a very strange experience to suddenly be chatting with people that were once very important in your life but with whom you had lost complete contact for so many years. Now I am able to communicate with them every day. People who were only a memory of a life long past have suddenly stepped into my present life and are sharing it with me daily. An odd feeling but a feeling I'm enjoying.
Who would have thought when I left these friends so many years ago that we would be doing something so futuristic as this?
Friday, January 30, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Beauty days
There is nothing like a snow day to make you feel good and rejuvenate your body and mind. I love days like this. I never put myself on the call list to be notified if there is a school cancellation. I really really really really hate to be awakened by a phone call out of a sound sleep. And I really really really really hate to have to fiddle with the buttons on the phone to call the next person on the list when my eyes still are not working. What if I go back to sleep before I call the next person? (that has actually happened to people I know) And I really really really really hate to talk to anyone until after I have had my shower. I'm just not a really good morning person.
My alarm is always set for 5:30. If there is a cancellation the local radio station announces it with the 5:30 news. I woke up this morning at 5:30 to the barnyard sounds that the station plays at that hour and then heard the welcome news.......school was canceled. Turned off the alarm and went back to sleep. Such a good feeling. That's how I like to be notified about a snow day.
I woke up again at 7:30 as Paul's snow plow rumbled down the driveway. I opened my eyes and looked out the window and saw the lovely signs of winter.
This is the view from my bed. If I can't see the hill behind the trees on the far side of the meadow I know it is a moderate snow. If I can't see the trees AND the hill then I know it is a heavy snow. Today I could see the trees but not the hill beyond. Moderate snow fall.
I love these days because I can take my time with my morning routine instead of the usual frantic rush. I can have a nice slow cup of steaming tea while I read every page of the newspaper. I do the crossword puzzle. I look out the windows of the porch and see the view of the snow from three different directions. Sometimes I spend the day cleaning. Sometimes I read. I usually shovel, although today it was like shoveling cement. Sometimes I find a closet that needs cleaning and organizing. When the kids were little I used to bake cookies. I don't get paid for these snow days but we make it all up at the end of the year.
It's rare that I have a day completely to myself. I relish it. Once upon a time I had 2 weeks of such heaven. We had just moved to Ithaca and I was in the process of looking for a job. Every day I would wake up knowing that I would have the day to myself to do whatever I wanted. I would clean, do laundry, bake bread, read, take a walk, shop. I loved the feeling. I would wake up in the morning with the sun streaming in my room, stretch and say, "Oh beauty day." A successful job hunt ended that. Then came the children and soccer, basketball, ballet, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, band practices, swim lessons, transporting to friends houses and and then came a job again once they started college. My "beauty days" had been put on hold as I took care of more important things. As I peer into the future I think those days are going to return once I retire. I can't wait.
My alarm is always set for 5:30. If there is a cancellation the local radio station announces it with the 5:30 news. I woke up this morning at 5:30 to the barnyard sounds that the station plays at that hour and then heard the welcome news.......school was canceled. Turned off the alarm and went back to sleep. Such a good feeling. That's how I like to be notified about a snow day.
I woke up again at 7:30 as Paul's snow plow rumbled down the driveway. I opened my eyes and looked out the window and saw the lovely signs of winter.
This is the view from my bed. If I can't see the hill behind the trees on the far side of the meadow I know it is a moderate snow. If I can't see the trees AND the hill then I know it is a heavy snow. Today I could see the trees but not the hill beyond. Moderate snow fall. I love these days because I can take my time with my morning routine instead of the usual frantic rush. I can have a nice slow cup of steaming tea while I read every page of the newspaper. I do the crossword puzzle. I look out the windows of the porch and see the view of the snow from three different directions. Sometimes I spend the day cleaning. Sometimes I read. I usually shovel, although today it was like shoveling cement. Sometimes I find a closet that needs cleaning and organizing. When the kids were little I used to bake cookies. I don't get paid for these snow days but we make it all up at the end of the year.
It's rare that I have a day completely to myself. I relish it. Once upon a time I had 2 weeks of such heaven. We had just moved to Ithaca and I was in the process of looking for a job. Every day I would wake up knowing that I would have the day to myself to do whatever I wanted. I would clean, do laundry, bake bread, read, take a walk, shop. I loved the feeling. I would wake up in the morning with the sun streaming in my room, stretch and say, "Oh beauty day." A successful job hunt ended that. Then came the children and soccer, basketball, ballet, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, band practices, swim lessons, transporting to friends houses and and then came a job again once they started college. My "beauty days" had been put on hold as I took care of more important things. As I peer into the future I think those days are going to return once I retire. I can't wait.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Little toys.
We've been having fun this weekend. We've been babysitting the grandchildren. Kara and Sean took a little R&R....went skiing for the day and then stayed at a B&B overnight. I wondered if Eamon and Elizabeth would be able to find enough to keep them happy and occupied, although I don't know why such a thought should even enter my head because we have more old toys around here than Walmart.
They spent at least 3 hours playing together with Elizabeth's favorite Princess dolls. I could hear their imaginative chatter on the sun porch. "Let's pretend that this is the river by the castle." I could hear Eamon making sure his masculine influence was heard in the princess world...."okay, now this is going to be the princess-mobile." Is that related to the bat-mobile?
I wanted to go outside and slide (silly me) and kept asking them if they wanted to go out and play with me but all I got was "not now...later." Later never came. By the time the sun went down and dinner was ready they were still in their imaginary world.
When my children were small I loved to go around the house at night and look at the little spots where they had been playing all day. There is something very poignant about looking at your children's play area just as they left it when you called them to bed. It's almost like intruding on their private little world.
I came across part of E & E"s little princess world that was interrupted in the middle of play. I love how they intermingle different parts of their toy worlds. They used Fisher Price furniture for the little figures. They used a gold bracelet and a magnifying glass. What for? I do not know but I'm sure they had a good reason for using it. Books were lined up in front of the area. Was this the river in front of the castle? There was a whole militia of cars and trucks surrounding the princess world. This must be Eamon's masculinity coming through. He usually hates anything "princess" but I imagine if you throw a few cars and trucks in the mix it becomes bearable.
I think what I remember most about fixating on my children's area of play after they went to bed is the high degree of guilt I felt if I had been snappish at them during the day. I would look at it and think "this looks so sweet and they are so sweet and I never should have yelled at them today." Do you think maybe they purposely leave their things out so we can experience the appropriate level of guilt??
They spent at least 3 hours playing together with Elizabeth's favorite Princess dolls. I could hear their imaginative chatter on the sun porch. "Let's pretend that this is the river by the castle." I could hear Eamon making sure his masculine influence was heard in the princess world...."okay, now this is going to be the princess-mobile." Is that related to the bat-mobile?
I wanted to go outside and slide (silly me) and kept asking them if they wanted to go out and play with me but all I got was "not now...later." Later never came. By the time the sun went down and dinner was ready they were still in their imaginary world.
When my children were small I loved to go around the house at night and look at the little spots where they had been playing all day. There is something very poignant about looking at your children's play area just as they left it when you called them to bed. It's almost like intruding on their private little world.
I came across part of E & E"s little princess world that was interrupted in the middle of play. I love how they intermingle different parts of their toy worlds. They used Fisher Price furniture for the little figures. They used a gold bracelet and a magnifying glass. What for? I do not know but I'm sure they had a good reason for using it. Books were lined up in front of the area. Was this the river in front of the castle? There was a whole militia of cars and trucks surrounding the princess world. This must be Eamon's masculinity coming through. He usually hates anything "princess" but I imagine if you throw a few cars and trucks in the mix it becomes bearable. I think what I remember most about fixating on my children's area of play after they went to bed is the high degree of guilt I felt if I had been snappish at them during the day. I would look at it and think "this looks so sweet and they are so sweet and I never should have yelled at them today." Do you think maybe they purposely leave their things out so we can experience the appropriate level of guilt??
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Getting away from it all
It snowed today...again. I am not tired of it....yet. I think it will be a long while before I tire of the snow. The extended weather forecast says a little more snow on Friday and I pump my fists and say "Oh yes, yes"!
There may come a time this winter when cabin fever sets in and I have the urge to get away, far away. I have nowhere to go but the urge will still be there.
When I was in college we would get the urge to get away....often. We usually couldn't do anything about it because where were poor (very) college students going to go, especially if you are in the middle of West Virginia. My nursing class was fortunate enough to be able to "get away". There were 6 of us in the class. One of the girls, who was from West Virginia, had a family member who owned a cottage in the woods and in the fall we would take a weekend to run away from our studies and enjoy life away from the dorm. You cannot appreciate how nice that is until you have lived in a dorm.
Her father would pick us up at school and we would drive through the curving carsick roads of West Virginia until we arrived at the cabin, located in an isolated wooded section of the state. He would drop us off and we would enter a wonderful two day world of R&R.
We would cook........REAL food. One of the girls would always make a lemon pie from a recipe that was on the Eagle (in West Va you pronounce that iggle not "ee"gle) Brand Condensed Milk can. I always think of that as the best lemon pie I have ever had. I wonder if eating it with friends is what made it so good.
In the evening we would gather around the piano as the "iggle brand lemon pie" baker pounded out some tunes that we could all sing along with.
We would build a fire in the fireplace ( I have no idea what good Girl Scout had the talent to do that) to warm up the cool evening. We would gather around the fireplace to talk, laugh, tell tales, sew, read or relax.
Sometimes we would enact scenarios from unusual nursing experiences.
It was a weekend that refreshed us and brought us close together. It was a happy memory maker. Sometimes we would talk of how we should gather together at that same place 10 or 15 or even more years after we graduated. We have never done that. To be honest, the thought today of 6 women alone in a cabin in the woods for a weekend is a bit frightening. Did we not have any fear then at all? Six young nurses alone in an isolated spot sounds like the plot for a good murder mystery. I'm glad those kinds of thoughts didn't go through my mind back then.
There may come a time this winter when cabin fever sets in and I have the urge to get away, far away. I have nowhere to go but the urge will still be there.
When I was in college we would get the urge to get away....often. We usually couldn't do anything about it because where were poor (very) college students going to go, especially if you are in the middle of West Virginia. My nursing class was fortunate enough to be able to "get away". There were 6 of us in the class. One of the girls, who was from West Virginia, had a family member who owned a cottage in the woods and in the fall we would take a weekend to run away from our studies and enjoy life away from the dorm. You cannot appreciate how nice that is until you have lived in a dorm.
Her father would pick us up at school and we would drive through the curving carsick roads of West Virginia until we arrived at the cabin, located in an isolated wooded section of the state. He would drop us off and we would enter a wonderful two day world of R&R.
We would cook........REAL food. One of the girls would always make a lemon pie from a recipe that was on the Eagle (in West Va you pronounce that iggle not "ee"gle) Brand Condensed Milk can. I always think of that as the best lemon pie I have ever had. I wonder if eating it with friends is what made it so good.
In the evening we would gather around the piano as the "iggle brand lemon pie" baker pounded out some tunes that we could all sing along with.
We would build a fire in the fireplace ( I have no idea what good Girl Scout had the talent to do that) to warm up the cool evening. We would gather around the fireplace to talk, laugh, tell tales, sew, read or relax.
Sometimes we would enact scenarios from unusual nursing experiences.It was a weekend that refreshed us and brought us close together. It was a happy memory maker. Sometimes we would talk of how we should gather together at that same place 10 or 15 or even more years after we graduated. We have never done that. To be honest, the thought today of 6 women alone in a cabin in the woods for a weekend is a bit frightening. Did we not have any fear then at all? Six young nurses alone in an isolated spot sounds like the plot for a good murder mystery. I'm glad those kinds of thoughts didn't go through my mind back then.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Brrrrrrryyy Cold
Winter is reaching it's icy little hand out to us and pulling us to her cold little body. Tomorrow the wind chill will be zero but that will feel warm by Friday when the wind chill could be 25 to 30 below zero. Brrrrrrrr. Those are the kind of days when it hurts just to scurry out on the deck to chuck the recyclables into the bin. How will I ever be able to survive bus duty in the Arctic conditions at the middle school?
Cold winters always remind me of my best winter friend.......my Flexible Flyer sled. The Flexible Flyer logo was long worn away but if you flipped it over you could still see it on the underside. It was old and rickety and could steer with just a touch of my finger. There is nothing like an old, broken-in sled for fast flying. It would clickety-clack as I raced down the hill and over the bumps with bits of snow flying in my face. I could out-sled anyone in my family. Sometimes my sister and I would go double. I would be on the bottom. She would be on the top. She would probably rather forget the time that I came up to a barbed-wire fence. I had no fear of going underneath it because I knew I had plenty of clearance but, oooopss, I forgot about her on top. Not enough clearance for her and she got a nice slash across her nose. I don't think she was much of a willing sledding partner after that.
The sled was my constant companion. We had lots of sledding room on the farm and I would tow it behind me until I could go no higher. I can still feel the wind blowing in my face as I squinted my eyes against the rush of frigid air. I can hear the sound of the runners in the otherwise silent world as they cut into the snow. Just me and my sled and the snow. There were times when I was too impatient to wait until the snow stopped and I would pull my sled up the hill in the middle of a blizzard with snow up to my knees. At the end of the day there was always the sweet reward of hot cocoa made with real milk and marshmallows (those great big Campfire ones that came layered in a box between strips of waxed paper), next to a warm wood stove.
Speaking of frigid weather, the record low in Connecticut was on February 16, 1943 in Falls Village, my hometown where the picture above was taken. It was -32. That was the actual temperature, NOT the wind chill. I guess Friday will seem warm compared to that.
Cold winters always remind me of my best winter friend.......my Flexible Flyer sled. The Flexible Flyer logo was long worn away but if you flipped it over you could still see it on the underside. It was old and rickety and could steer with just a touch of my finger. There is nothing like an old, broken-in sled for fast flying. It would clickety-clack as I raced down the hill and over the bumps with bits of snow flying in my face. I could out-sled anyone in my family. Sometimes my sister and I would go double. I would be on the bottom. She would be on the top. She would probably rather forget the time that I came up to a barbed-wire fence. I had no fear of going underneath it because I knew I had plenty of clearance but, oooopss, I forgot about her on top. Not enough clearance for her and she got a nice slash across her nose. I don't think she was much of a willing sledding partner after that.
The sled was my constant companion. We had lots of sledding room on the farm and I would tow it behind me until I could go no higher. I can still feel the wind blowing in my face as I squinted my eyes against the rush of frigid air. I can hear the sound of the runners in the otherwise silent world as they cut into the snow. Just me and my sled and the snow. There were times when I was too impatient to wait until the snow stopped and I would pull my sled up the hill in the middle of a blizzard with snow up to my knees. At the end of the day there was always the sweet reward of hot cocoa made with real milk and marshmallows (those great big Campfire ones that came layered in a box between strips of waxed paper), next to a warm wood stove.
Speaking of frigid weather, the record low in Connecticut was on February 16, 1943 in Falls Village, my hometown where the picture above was taken. It was -32. That was the actual temperature, NOT the wind chill. I guess Friday will seem warm compared to that.
Friday, January 09, 2009
Walking in a winter wonderland
Be careful what you wish for, you may just get it. I wished for snow. We're getting it...and getting it. We are expecting snow tomorrow and then again on Tuesday and then again on Wednesday. I think the poor little birds are sensing the coming bad weather and filling themselves up with food.
When I was home from school on Wednesday I sat on my porch and watched the birds flock to my feeder. They were voracious. I had to refill the feeder halfway through the day. I don't think I have ever had to do that. It was gone again this evening and my other two feeders were empty also. I filled everything up as the sun was going down today so they should have enough to keep them fed through the next storm.
The ice we had on Wednesday melted almost everywhere in Torrington except at the Middle School. We are located high enough so that if most of Torrington is thawing, we are still freezing. Most days it feels like the North Pole up there, and sounds it with the winds truly howling and moaning around the building. I do have to say that, despite all the problems the ice causes, it is absolutely beautiful and spectacular. When you walk out of the school you are faced with a blaze of shining crystal trees. There is a line of them that are bent over from the weight of the ice and they look like lovely, sparkling ballerinas bowing to their audience. Some of the trees are tall and stately and shimmering in their ice beauty. When the sun shines on them the effect is stunning. Sometimes they look like they are strung with tiny Christmas lights as the sun causes the ice to sparkle with red, green and yellow. It is interesting to watch people as they walk out the door into this winter wonderland. They stop and catch their breath as they smile and say, "Oh wow. That is so beautiful."
The full moon on the snow covered ground was breathtaking tonight. It was so bright you could see the shadows of the tree branches spreading across the ground. A romantic sight.
Next week is supposed to be cold. Really really really cold. The coldest weather that New England has seen in a long time. Maybe I will be thinking a little differently about my winter wonderland then. But I doubt it.
When I was home from school on Wednesday I sat on my porch and watched the birds flock to my feeder. They were voracious. I had to refill the feeder halfway through the day. I don't think I have ever had to do that. It was gone again this evening and my other two feeders were empty also. I filled everything up as the sun was going down today so they should have enough to keep them fed through the next storm.The ice we had on Wednesday melted almost everywhere in Torrington except at the Middle School. We are located high enough so that if most of Torrington is thawing, we are still freezing. Most days it feels like the North Pole up there, and sounds it with the winds truly howling and moaning around the building. I do have to say that, despite all the problems the ice causes, it is absolutely beautiful and spectacular. When you walk out of the school you are faced with a blaze of shining crystal trees. There is a line of them that are bent over from the weight of the ice and they look like lovely, sparkling ballerinas bowing to their audience. Some of the trees are tall and stately and shimmering in their ice beauty. When the sun shines on them the effect is stunning. Sometimes they look like they are strung with tiny Christmas lights as the sun causes the ice to sparkle with red, green and yellow. It is interesting to watch people as they walk out the door into this winter wonderland. They stop and catch their breath as they smile and say, "Oh wow. That is so beautiful."
The full moon on the snow covered ground was breathtaking tonight. It was so bright you could see the shadows of the tree branches spreading across the ground. A romantic sight.
Next week is supposed to be cold. Really really really cold. The coldest weather that New England has seen in a long time. Maybe I will be thinking a little differently about my winter wonderland then. But I doubt it.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Happy Birthday to my Capricorns
A long time ago I copied a quote. It has been hanging on my bulletin board in the kitchen ever since. It is brittle and yellow with age and is full of thumbtack holes. It says: "In our family, knock on wood, there are no drunkards, no lawyers and no Capricorns".
Capricorns do have good traits. A Capricorn is hardworking, responsible, reliable, loyal and sincere. They also tend to be a bit introverted and shy, a little (well, sometimes more than a little) obstinate (frustratingly so) and can be short tempered. And sometimes, yes, they can be a little hard to get along with. I cut the quote out because Paul, my little Capricorn, sometimes took the obstinate and short-tempered traits to a new level and I needed the smiles that the quoted rendered. Then I had a little Capricorn son, and then Kara dated a Capricorn in high school. And then she married one! This family must have an attraction for Capricorns. My Capricorns are heavy on the good traits and I do love my family of goats.
December went by so quickly this year that I didn't get a chance to wish a timely happy birthday to my Capricorn family.
There is Sean, husband of Kara. Sean is that hardworking, responsible and reliable Capricorn. He has given me two very sweet and beautiful grandchildren, none of who are Capricorns. A very special gift that will forever make me smile.
Capricorns also have a very good sense of humor, especially dry humor. That's my Brett! From the time he could talk he was the one who could make us laugh. One of his two little boys is so much like him, both in looks and personality. I feel like I am enjoying Brett's childhood all over again. It was so good the first time around. I didn't think it could get better, but it has.
And Paul, my third little Capricorn. Capricorns don't show their emotions very easily which may make them seem cold, but they are actually sensitive creatures with those they care about. That's my Paul. He may seem tough on the outside but he is really a little pussycat! He will go out of his way to help someone in need, even though he may grumble about it while he's doing it! Perfectonist tendancies..........that's him. It truly drove me nuts in the beginning but I needed someone like that to curb my very unperfectionist tendancies. I guess that is why opposites attract.
So....a belated Happy Birthday to my favorite Capricorns! You have made life so good.
Capricorns do have good traits. A Capricorn is hardworking, responsible, reliable, loyal and sincere. They also tend to be a bit introverted and shy, a little (well, sometimes more than a little) obstinate (frustratingly so) and can be short tempered. And sometimes, yes, they can be a little hard to get along with. I cut the quote out because Paul, my little Capricorn, sometimes took the obstinate and short-tempered traits to a new level and I needed the smiles that the quoted rendered. Then I had a little Capricorn son, and then Kara dated a Capricorn in high school. And then she married one! This family must have an attraction for Capricorns. My Capricorns are heavy on the good traits and I do love my family of goats.
December went by so quickly this year that I didn't get a chance to wish a timely happy birthday to my Capricorn family.
There is Sean, husband of Kara. Sean is that hardworking, responsible and reliable Capricorn. He has given me two very sweet and beautiful grandchildren, none of who are Capricorns. A very special gift that will forever make me smile.
Capricorns also have a very good sense of humor, especially dry humor. That's my Brett! From the time he could talk he was the one who could make us laugh. One of his two little boys is so much like him, both in looks and personality. I feel like I am enjoying Brett's childhood all over again. It was so good the first time around. I didn't think it could get better, but it has.
And Paul, my third little Capricorn. Capricorns don't show their emotions very easily which may make them seem cold, but they are actually sensitive creatures with those they care about. That's my Paul. He may seem tough on the outside but he is really a little pussycat! He will go out of his way to help someone in need, even though he may grumble about it while he's doing it! Perfectonist tendancies..........that's him. It truly drove me nuts in the beginning but I needed someone like that to curb my very unperfectionist tendancies. I guess that is why opposites attract.So....a belated Happy Birthday to my favorite Capricorns! You have made life so good.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Movies and music
I had control of the remote tonight and happened to come across "Sleepless in Seattle". I couldn't resist and had to watch it for the third time. I love the movie. The music, the acting, the cute little kid, the story-line, the romance. Maybe I like it because it's a movie for "old souls". Even "blood and guts, shoot-em-up-bang-bang" Paul likes the movie and sat down and watched it with me. Any man who likes this movie is a real keeper.
Paul found this site on the internet: http://hfm3.com/jukebox/jukebox.html. It's a fun site for all "old souls" like me. You can listen to 105 songs from 1957 and drown yourself with old memories. I was only 11 years old in 1957 but there was a longevity to those songs that carried through my youth and even into today. When I listen to them I think of dances in the high school cafeteria, getting ready to go on dates, watching Perry Como and Pat Boone on the Ed Sullivan show, record hops, dancing and acting silly in the Bornemann's basement, dancing at church dances, having long talks in the music listening room in college, falling in love, long quiet evenings with Paul listening to Johnny Mathis, and just being a happy young person in a very happy time. Listen for a while and see what memories can be teased out of your memory box. Even if you are too young to have any memories the music will just make you feel good.
Paul found this site on the internet: http://hfm3.com/jukebox/jukebox.html. It's a fun site for all "old souls" like me. You can listen to 105 songs from 1957 and drown yourself with old memories. I was only 11 years old in 1957 but there was a longevity to those songs that carried through my youth and even into today. When I listen to them I think of dances in the high school cafeteria, getting ready to go on dates, watching Perry Como and Pat Boone on the Ed Sullivan show, record hops, dancing and acting silly in the Bornemann's basement, dancing at church dances, having long talks in the music listening room in college, falling in love, long quiet evenings with Paul listening to Johnny Mathis, and just being a happy young person in a very happy time. Listen for a while and see what memories can be teased out of your memory box. Even if you are too young to have any memories the music will just make you feel good.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Ringing out the old and in the new.
Another New Year's Eve has come and gone. How many have I seen? I don't even dare add up the years. I can remember when I was a teenager and began thinking ahead to the year 2000. It seemed like such a momentous time, and SO far away that I wondered whether I would actually be still around to see it make it's entrance. 54 years old. That sounded VERY old. Thankfully I was around and thankfully I am still enjoying New Year's eve.
I have spent New Year's eve in a variety of different places. In a restaurant, partying at the Elk's Club, parties in various homes, in the basement of the Methodist Church and at my Bornemann relatives when a bitter cold spell froze the water pipes in our farmhouse.
My favorite way to spend New Years is the way we have been doing it in recent years. Just getting together quietly with two very good friends and enjoying lobster, a little wine, a movie, laughs and reminisces of the year past. I guess I'm getting too old for too much revelry.
I spent New Year's Day the way I usually do.......de-decorating my house. I have to get rid of everything that screams Christmas so I can begin the new year with a clean (relatively speaking) house. As I pull the ornaments off the tree I have to take a little extra time with some of them to enjoy the memories. Is there anything that will bring back old feelings and memories than the decorations on a tree?
I'm sure that anyone who grew up in the '40's and '50's will have a little stir of nostalgia when they see an ornament like this. We found a box of Christmas ornaments in my father's apartment which everyone poked through. I went through it again after everyone had gathered what they wanted and found this one. It looks exactly like one we used to hang on the tree on the farm. Whether it is the same one or one that my father picked up from somewhere else, I don't know, but when I look at it I can still remember the excitement of hanging it on the pine boughs of the tree in the living room, and being fearful that at any time it could slip out of my hands and become a sea of broken glass on the floor. I still have that fear.
The most treasured ornaments are those my children made in school. Everyone who has children has those and probably hangs them up year after year and each year they seem to get more tattered and worn but that doesn't erase the memory of the pride in their faces as they presented you with their own ornament that they made.
Kara's very first ornament that she made in nursery school. Each year it comes apart just a little bit more but it's looking pretty good for 32 years!
Brett's angel ornament showing his artistic prowess at such a young age.
And his Santa Claus with the leg that has somehow disappeared over the years.
Damon's little angel, almost identical to Brett's but about 1/2 the size. And well, maybe a little less artistic.
And then there is Brett's candle. I know he cringes when I put this up. It changes shape every year. It started out as two candles connected by the string they used to dip it with but it melts with the summer heat in the attic and morphs into unusual shapes. It is always a surprise to see what it looks like each Christmas when we pull it out of the box. This year the two candles had melted together and are now twisted into one.
The sweetest thing about the ornaments is when you turn them over and find that your child had scrawled his name on the back. There is something about that childish signature that melts your heart. It brings back a simpler time when they were so young and innocent. The image of them bent over their desk, pencil in hand, proudly writing their name makes you want to linger a little while longer over the ornaments.
But those gold painted macaroni ornaments. I'm not sure where they have gone. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm...................
I have spent New Year's eve in a variety of different places. In a restaurant, partying at the Elk's Club, parties in various homes, in the basement of the Methodist Church and at my Bornemann relatives when a bitter cold spell froze the water pipes in our farmhouse.
My favorite way to spend New Years is the way we have been doing it in recent years. Just getting together quietly with two very good friends and enjoying lobster, a little wine, a movie, laughs and reminisces of the year past. I guess I'm getting too old for too much revelry. I spent New Year's Day the way I usually do.......de-decorating my house. I have to get rid of everything that screams Christmas so I can begin the new year with a clean (relatively speaking) house. As I pull the ornaments off the tree I have to take a little extra time with some of them to enjoy the memories. Is there anything that will bring back old feelings and memories than the decorations on a tree?
I'm sure that anyone who grew up in the '40's and '50's will have a little stir of nostalgia when they see an ornament like this. We found a box of Christmas ornaments in my father's apartment which everyone poked through. I went through it again after everyone had gathered what they wanted and found this one. It looks exactly like one we used to hang on the tree on the farm. Whether it is the same one or one that my father picked up from somewhere else, I don't know, but when I look at it I can still remember the excitement of hanging it on the pine boughs of the tree in the living room, and being fearful that at any time it could slip out of my hands and become a sea of broken glass on the floor. I still have that fear.The most treasured ornaments are those my children made in school. Everyone who has children has those and probably hangs them up year after year and each year they seem to get more tattered and worn but that doesn't erase the memory of the pride in their faces as they presented you with their own ornament that they made.
Kara's very first ornament that she made in nursery school. Each year it comes apart just a little bit more but it's looking pretty good for 32 years!
Brett's angel ornament showing his artistic prowess at such a young age.
And his Santa Claus with the leg that has somehow disappeared over the years.
Damon's little angel, almost identical to Brett's but about 1/2 the size. And well, maybe a little less artistic.
And then there is Brett's candle. I know he cringes when I put this up. It changes shape every year. It started out as two candles connected by the string they used to dip it with but it melts with the summer heat in the attic and morphs into unusual shapes. It is always a surprise to see what it looks like each Christmas when we pull it out of the box. This year the two candles had melted together and are now twisted into one.
The sweetest thing about the ornaments is when you turn them over and find that your child had scrawled his name on the back. There is something about that childish signature that melts your heart. It brings back a simpler time when they were so young and innocent. The image of them bent over their desk, pencil in hand, proudly writing their name makes you want to linger a little while longer over the ornaments.But those gold painted macaroni ornaments. I'm not sure where they have gone. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm...................
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)