#sol24 December 24 Peace, Hope, and Your Grocery Cart

 

In the days leading up to this mega, midweek holiday extravaganza, in Stew Leonards, a local mega specialty grocery store, a man took my basket containing a small filet, a pound of shrimp, and a well used Trader Joe grocery bag. 

"I think you took my cart by accident," I said with a smile as I approached him closing in on the checkout line. 

"I did NOT," he said with the determination of a person eager to get out of the frenzy of holiday shoppers. "Go get your own cart," he scoffed as he pushed into the checkout line. 

I am really not sure why he was so grouchy or why he thought the cart was his, but in the end, it doesn't matter!  Perhaps, he really needed to secure a filet, bag of shrimp, and a grocery bag without waiting in the long line of holiday shoppers! 

Perhaps, I am growing "soft" in my old age or perhaps I have read How the Grinch stole Christmas too many times, but I left with a shrug and the Grinch's message in my head....

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,

stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? 

It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. 

And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. 

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. 

What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. 

What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

Whatever you are celebrating (or not celebrating) and whoever you are with (or not with), I hope you find the peace and hope of this season of lights and miracles and your own grocery cart!

#sol24 December 17 Oversized, Overpriced, Priceless Memories

 

To be honest, I thought this year might have been the one to scale back - a little tabletop tree, perhaps?

But my "assistants" really liked "Gianna" and offered to help me decorate the oversized, overpriced tree that is now shedding in my living room; thus, she has now taken over 16 square feet of real estate!

The decorating was slow and steady, interspersed with tea, cookies, questions about "long ago" and comments about "antique" ornaments!

        "Why don't you get a new lady or put a bow at the top of your tree, that one is falling apart?"

        In my defense, the decrepit tree-top angel was a freebee with a purchase at Sears, long, long ago!

        "Why don't you put a new note in the mailbox?"

        In my defense, that note was written by your great-grandmother, so it is special to me.

        "Why do you have so many angels?" 

        In my defense, each one was made or purchased in memory of someone I lost.

        "Check this out, it says Christmas 1979!"

        In my defense, we celebrated Christmas long ago!

To be honest, I am glad to welcome Gianna, even if I don't need "Gianna" and her abundant raining needles!  

To be honest, I am glad to have shared things that are special to me with people who are special to me.  To be honest, someday soon, most of these "special-to-me" ornaments will find themselves in either a 25-cent bin at Goodwill or a landfill.

To be honest, I am glad I agreed to spend this year's holiday with an oversized, overpriced tree who is wearing a host of memories on her arms!

#sol24 December 10 Due Date

 

Today, there are students, who are "sweating it out" in spite of the cold, dreary weather. 

• Some of them are procrastinators (like their professor), and are doing random other things to avoid the inevitable (like their professor who is writing a SOL).
• Others are deciding on their "excuse" among the common (The Flu, Sick Students) and the less likely (Crashed Computer).  (I have heard them all!)
• Some of them have a long history of doing their best work when the due date is hours away!
• Others really have been overwhelmed by the demands of being new teachers for 15 weeks.
• Some of are used to throwing together their report, project, case study or whatever else was needed at the last.
• Others are reliant on the potential of AI to do the hard work!
• Some are hoping their professor will be "wooed" by their strong opening thesis statement and the need to read a zillion papers in a matter of days.

Tomorrow, the work is due. Then, their professor will begin "sweating it out" in spite of the cold, dreary weather.  She will have to:

• Not wrap that pile of presents
• Not mix up a vat of gingerbread dough
• Not decorate with designs waiting in the wings for decade
• Not procrastinate  

Today and tomorrow, I hope my students stay strong and as we both remember that tough times and due dates make strong people!

#sol24 December 3 Finding Love

This time of year

On cold, lonely nights,

I sometimes watch a

Cheesy, unrealistic tale

About finding love amidst

Gently falling snowflakes

With twinkling lights and

Dark December skies

As a backdrop.

This year,

I watched a story unfold,

With a foreboding winter backdrop,

Ebbing daylight, icy wind, dark clouds, 

A tiny pup, looking like a winter day,

Wormed his way into our hearts

Into our lives.

"Snowy" will never 

Walk, eat, sleep, play, 

Or, be lonely

As he is NOW part of a family

Who don't need to watch cheesy

Unrealistic movies about finding love.