Loss at Lemmondrops

"And did you get what
you wanted from this life, even so?

I did.

And what did you want?

To call myself beloved, to feel myself
beloved on the earth."

— Raymond Carver

These words are part of the final post at this blog(click here). Emilie, a mother of 2, writer, blogger, woman of great talent, passed away on Christmas Eve from cancer. She was 40 years old.

Here is a newspaper article with more about Emilie, her life, and her work: Remembering Emilie.(click to read full article)

Instead of sheep try...

Counting your Blessings (click here to see Bing sing)

White Christmas is one of my favorite movies of all time. I'm watching it right now as I write this. It's great to just put on as you putter around getting ready for the holidays. Hearing this song reminded me that I've been thinking about doing a post about my gratitude journal.

I can't take credit for the idea. In 1996 I read the book Simple Abundance and that is how it started. Little did I know that those words would be like a record of moments spent with two of my closest loved ones. They were about to leave this earth.

It's simple. Write down five things you're grateful for every day. Over the years I've used special journals but sometimes it's just a little spiral notepad. Sometimes I get wordy and elaborate. But many times it's 5 numbered words.

1. Love
2. Friendship
3. Faith
4. Home
5. Work

There's no rules. They can be little things or big things. It's personal preference. Sometimes I'm grateful for clean sheets and coffee.

I was thinking about this because I'd gotten out of the habit lately. And I realized I have a whole life filled with things that make me feel very grateful:

I'm grateful for that good feeling after rehab and going to the gym. It's so good the memory keeps me working out every week.

A phone call from a friend or two. Yea, I spent hours on the phone today....

My snow removal "team".

My electric blanket. I think I'm in love.

Now that I've started I could go on and on. Gratitude gets me out of the grumps. I'm going back to watch the rest of the movie!

And we really are having a white Christmas this year!!

Need some commercial free Christmas music?

click here for Spirit and Song music on demand.

One Missing Piece?

I always check out the clearance shelves. I was surprised to see a Christmas item there already. When I picked it up I realized why it was there. It was marked down because something was missing.



It was a Nativity scene. Each figure had a spot on the molded plastic package. There was Mary. There were 3 Wisemen. And in the corner I could see the shape of the missing piece. It was Jesus in the manger. There was an arrow and the words:

One Missing Piece

Many thoughts went through my head. I knew I would have to blog about this. I wished I had my camera. I wondered if I should buy it. I stared at the empty spot. It was the smallest indentation of all.



I didn't buy it. But I've remembered that missing piece as I think about this season of Advent and as I prepare for Christmas. And I want to make sure my Christmas is not missing anything. Or rather, anyone.

Blog Block

I've been getting emails wondering why I haven't posted for so long. The following is a response I just sent to one of those emails:

This is one of my favorite things about my blog readers....they wonder how I am if I don't post! That is so sweet!
I stared at an empty post last night and wrote....nothing. I had a few possible posts in my head and a few started but there were important topics uppermost in my mind and everything else seemed trivial. Yet I had nothing prepared on the most important topics on my mind: Advent and my uncle George's memorial on Sunday.

My family is Eastern Orthodox so this is the 40 day memorial. I looked up ways to explain this...partly because I wasn't sure also.I had been told this is more important than the funeral. And I had been reading emails from cousins who were touched by what I wrote about George and also asking if I was going to Toronto this weekend. For various reasons I decided not to.

So. For all those reasons I have blog block. I also rebel a little about this time of year. In Advent I love the way we mentally "Prepare the way of the Lord" and participate less the way the world prepares. I like the way the church is bare until Christmas Eve and then stays up into January!! Epiphany!! Yes!!

I think I just wrote my next post.
You, again, have inspired me.

Thanks.