Oh, To Be 8 Years Old Again

Think back to this time of year when you were 8 years old…..even if that was a very long time ago for some of you reading this.

Oh, the anticipation!

Oh, the excitement!

I was taught what Christmas was really about ….celebrating Jesus’ birth.  My upbringing included being in church and Sunday school and there the excitement built even more. We knew it was a very special holiday for the right reasons.

Being 8 years old I also knew Santa Claus was coming and I was going to get presents!

My little brother, Chuck, and I woke on that Christmas morning at probably 4am. We sneaked to the Christmas tree and stared at the presents. They were all wrapped and we didn’t dare touch one of them for fear of waking mom and dad. There was a very large box and it said To: Brenda and Chuck, From Santa.  We sat looking at that box whispering about what could possibly be in it for both of us. I suppose we sat there like that for a couple hours until mom and dad got up. We may have even gone back to bed and pretended to be asleep when we heard them getting up so as not to get caught.

The big box contained a child’s electric organ/piano but that is not even important. What is important is what we were feeling.

The anticipation!

The excitement!

It had built for a couple weeks leading up to this one day.

I am no longer 8 years old but I can still feel that anticipation and excitement when it is this close to Christmas. I no longer believe in Santa Claus and don’t care about presents but I do still believe in the reason we celebrate.

Chuck is with Jesus now, celebrating in a way we can’t comprehend here on earth. I feel certain he is playing music in heaven because that organ/piano was just a start for him being very musically talented as a child, almost prodigy talented. Me, not so much, not a lick of musical talent.

My wish for you at Christmas is to remember the reason for this celebration and you have the anticipation and excitement you did as an 8 year old. Maybe you don’t have family, maybe you don’t have money for presents, maybe you can’t be with your family….doesn’t matter. Your heart is what matters….Oh Come All Ye Faithful.

Do you have a Christmas memory you will share here? Something you remember so many years later.

Happy Birthday Jesus and Merry Christmas to my blog friends.

Angels.....everywhere this week!

This has been a most interesting week!

It started with a former FBI agent, now author, who knows all about angels. That was shared with me by the dearest of all friends who I think is an earthly angel. I also think this FBI agent may know me because of angels. That may sound a bit strange, but it just is.

In 1999 someone gave me a piece of garden statuary of an angel. It was extremely important to me at the time because of my mothers death. For the past week or so I have been almost consumed with the thought that the angel needed to go back to the place it came from to comfort someone else. I just knew someone needed to see that angel and feel the comfort I did in 1999 and every day since when I saw it in my garden.

I made that happen today.

In the process, I met and made a new friend who transported the angel back to it's orignal place for me. Over coffee with this person, we connected immediately, and I believe we will have a great friendship now.  

Did the angel have anything to do with that?

 

Of all things, over cocktails in a bar last night, I shared some of my "angel stories" with someone who surprised even me I was telling about these experiences. Maybe they needed to hear about it.

I am open to receiving whatever God has in store for me and maybe, just maybe, all these angels are so prominent this week in my life for a wonderful, joyful reason.

I believe they are.

It is the season after all!

As Seen On TV....and everywhere else

This was in my newspaper sale flyers today and my very first thought was “stylish” pajama jeans…..really?

Why in the world do we need to promote people wearing their pajama’s in public any more than they already do by making them look like jeans?  

Pajama’s are for sleeping. Unless you are self employed, work from home a lot and begin your day at 6:30am, then they can be your morning work clothes.

I see so many people in their pj’s and house slippers in stores, in the airport and sometimes just walking down the street.

Why do they think that is acceptable?

It seems the people who dress like that just shuffle along slowly as if they just woke up and won’t get the hell out of my way. I don’t care how nice those plaid flannel jammies are or how comfortable they are, you look like a real lazy ass loser in public.

I was raised in a different era where you dressed a certain way for inside the house and outside the house. You also wore your best for church. I was at the court house last year filing some things and was appalled at how people were dressed. That is another place I think you should show some respect and not wear your pj’s.

As I write this, it has gotten dark outside and I am in for the night.  

Time to put my jammies on!