Lessons Learned From Cinderella and Georgia

I watch my grandson a few days a week while my son and daughter-in-law work.  Usually when I arrive at their house in the mornings, his big sister Georgia is watching one of her favorite movies as she is eating her breakfast.  On Tuesday she was watching the old animated Cinderella.  It is the one with the birds and mice that sew her a dress to wear to the ball.  Cinderella was always so humble as she cooked and cleaned, wore clothes that were rags and made sure that all of the animals were fed and taken care of.  What a sweet girl she was.

When the night of the ball arrived, Cinderella finished all of her chores then put on her 'new' pink dress and ran downstairs to get into the carriage.  As the 2 wicked step sisters saw her, they immediately grabbed her necklace made out of discarded beads and an old sash that belonged to them.  Cinderella's dress was torn into shreds as they laughed and headed out the door.  I wanted to cry for her, knowing her chance was gone.  Instead I said, 'those 2 are so mean.'  And Georgia said in her sweet voice, 'yes, but I still like them'. 

Thanks Cinderella for teaching me that things will be brighter one day.  And thank you Georgia for teaching me that you can find good in people if you just look.

Happy New Year

There was a movie made about 10 years ago where a 13 year old girl wishes that she could skip over her teen years and become an adult.  She is granted her wish and wakes up in NY as a 30 year old woman.  During the following days and weeks, she realizes that she was one of the popular group of girls in junior high that also was a group of bullies.  She has lost her best friend and doesn't visit her parents.  She has sabotaged her job and boss, who she thinks is a really nice guy and doesn't deserve to lose his company.  Her co-workers dislike her and her secretary is afraid of her.  In short, her life is nothing like she thought it would be.

In one scene, she goes back to her childhood home trying to reverse the wish.  At breakfast the next morning she asks her mother if she regretted making any mistakes in her life. Her mother tells her "no, because if I hadn't have made them, I wouldn't have learned how to make things right."  And at this point of the movie I want to yell at the TV, "of course you would change some of your decisions!"  Who wouldn't want to change some things in their life?

Whether it is not going into debt for that new car when you had a perfectly good car, or something as simple as not cutting someone off in traffic, who of us wouldn't change a few things in our life?  (And no, you can't find out the winning lottery numbers.) 

Today is the start of a new year.  Make this year one that on Dec 31, 2015, you won't have to say , "If I could change what I did this year...."

Norman Rockwell

Norman Rockwell was an artist who painted many different scenes starting in the early 1900s. Most of them were of big happy families or modern homes. If your family wasn’t like the latest magazine cover, you might have felt inadequate or that something was missing in your life. My family certainly could have never posed for an issue but that never bothered me. Our holidays were fun and I smile when I think about them. Like everyone does, I thought they would last forever.
 
But as time goes on, things happen and our lives are forever altered.  With sadness I sit and think about all we have lost.  And a tear slowly slides down my cheek.  For I know life will never be the same.

I weep for the mother who will not hold her daughter’s hand as she walks into her kindergarten class for the first time and for the mother who will never straighten a cap on graduation day.  For the mother who asked her son what his unborn children’s name would one day be and for the father who will never walk his daughter down the aisle, I weep.   For the grandfathers who missed Eagle Scout ceremonies and the grandmothers who loved to rock grandchildren, I weep.  I shed tears for the grandparents who never saw the great grandchild named for them and for the great grandmothers who were the hub that held the spokes of the family.

In the stillness of the day, I mourn what will never again be.  But I thank God for the time we had, the memories we shared and the traditions that I hope will continue as the years pass by.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFjdfjrtf1Q.

Catawba Heights Elementary School

The elementary school that I attended in the 60s was small.  I can remember some of the activities that our school did but what I remember most are Christmases.  In the 1st grade, we went to the local radio station and sat on the floor in a big room.  Santa spoke to us from the North Pole over the intercom.  Later we had cookies and an orange drink.  For our party at school, the grade mothers fixed little ceramic mugs that were shaped like Santa faces.  Inside were a few pieces of chocolate and a candy cane.  In the weeks leading up to Christmas, we drew pictures to hang in our classroom and in the hall.  We didn't skip our math and spelling lessons but we made time for art projects. 

The year I was in the 5th or 6th grade, we had a Christmas program for the school and parents.  I can still remember some of the songs we sang.  One was 'Pablo the Reindeer' and the girls who sang it wore 'antlers' on their head.  The antlers were actually branches from a silver Christmas tree that was popular back in the 60s.  We enjoyed singing any song that had movement such as 'Rudolph the red nosed reindeer'.  I'm not sure if teachers now are allowed to do some of the things we did years ago.  It would be a shame if kids couldn't learn the words or motions to 'Must Be Santa'. 

Christmas is such a magical time of year and I hope my CHES 1966-1972 classmate's memories are as good as mine.  Merry Christmas!

Christmastown USA

One of the small towns that is located near my home is nicknamed 'Christmastown USA'.  In 1956, a group of men started a tradition at Christmas of hanging color lights on a few trees downtown. Afterwards a local businessman and his wife decided to have all of the trees covered with lights for the first part of Dec.  Each of the residents is responsible for their own house and yard.  Some people hang a wreath on the door, while others have candles in every window and lights on every tree in their yard.  The pond in the center of town has a fountain with different color lights and all of the trees around the pond are lighted also.  A new feature is Old Man Winter blowing the chilly air.  One of the churches on Main St. always has a nativity with a star attached high above on a pole.  Beautiful music plays over a loudspeaker and it is a very moving scene.

When the tradition first started, only red, green and white lights were used.  After 9-11, a single tree in town was covered with red, white and blue lights in honor of our military. 

The town lights are on each night until just after Christmas.  People come from everywhere to see the lights.  Churches have hayrides, people rent limos and some people just park and walk through the streets.  It is a very beautiful place and there is no charge for admission. You just need a little patience and a willingness to slow down and enjoy the magic and spirit of this time of year. 

The Christmas Catalog

When I was a little girl, one of the most exciting times of the year was right after Halloween when we received our Christmas catalog.  Glossy, color pictures of everything from clothes to toys to outdoor decorations were in this book.  When it would arrive in the mail, I would always turn to the pages of toys and start thinking about what I would write on my list to Santa.  Bikes, games, dolls, train sets, anything that you could possibly want was in this book.  I sometimes wonder if I ever earmarked the top of the pages that had my 'wants' or if I took a big marker and drew a circle around the picture of the item.  I am sure that I had been talking about what I wanted and 'Santa' already knew, without us even getting the catalog. 

When our sons were growing up, we encouraged them to write a letter to Santa.  Most of the time, they inquired about Mrs. Claus and Rudolph.  And they usually said that they had been good all year.  We had Christmas catalogs at our home and one year, they skipped the letters and just cut out pictures of what they wanted.  I don't recall if they got what they wanted that year but they were happy when they came downstairs and saw everything laid out. 

I wonder if kids now just go to the website of their preferred gift, print out the page and leave it laying around for 'Santa'.  How sad that they can't sit on the couch and flip through a book with their brother or sister and excitedly say 'Wow, I want one of those for Christmas' or 'I'm asking Santa for one of those'.

And I wonder if Santa has to go to 'Google' to find out exactly what it is that a child asks for.  If they had a Christmas catalog, it would be so much simpler. 

 

I Love A Parade

I still live in the same town that I grew up in.  It was anchored by textile mills for many years.  When the mills started closing, the town began to take on a new personality.  There were many changes taking place, in the neighborhoods and businesses.  One thing that has never changed is our Christmas parade.  I can remember being a little girl and looking forward to the Tuesday that we would line the streets, waiting for the police cars to slowly make their way down, sirens blaring loud.  My mother worked at one of the mills along the parade route so we would park in their parking lot.  Her shift ended at 3:00, she would come home and pick me up and we would head back downtown.  She would always buy me a special treat of little doughnuts from the mill store (which was called something else, but that is a story for another day) and we would walk to the spot where we stood every year.  For several years after my mom retired and the mill had shut down, we still stood in the same location as we previously had. 

We would laugh at the clowns and were amazed at the baton twirlers.  We thought the metallic streamers on the floats were so shiny and we watched the dance classes as they moved and clapped along with the music.  We watched as the church vans pulled their floats with the live nativity scenes and a baby doll laying in the hay in the manger.

The parade is still on Tuesday and is started by the local police, their sirens blaring loud.  The high school bands still play Christmas carols and the homecoming queens still wave from the convertible cars. The Boy Scouts still march and Santa is at the end, wishing everyone a 'Merry Christmas'.

 

And I still think about the little coconut donuts that my mom bought for me and the excitement I felt on the Tuesday that the parade was held.