Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Tonight was fun because I played Just Dance 2 with my youngest son on the Wii. I haven't played in quite awhile, so it was fun to play with him.

Benjamin and I played seven dances, and at 32 years older than him, I held my own, winning three out of the seven. When we came upstairs after our dance off, Andrew was laughing.

I asked him what was so funny, and he said he heard me screaming so loud he knew I must have set a record. I laughed and admitted to setting the game record for Should I Stay or Should I Go? by The Clash.

Benjamin coyly looked at me and said, "You're not going to post that on Facebook, are you?"

I shook my head and responded, "Nope, just on my blog."

Inner Peace

Tonight, I attended an Advent by candlelight event at the church, and the theme was "Peace." As I listened to the people speak, I was thinking about what peace means to me.

I have been on a personal journey for awhile, and in a way, I suppose I am searching for some type of inner peace. During the course of this journey, I realized I have neglected my spiritual, emotional and physical well-being for many years resulting in a lack of inner peace.

Today, I realized I am responsible for finding my own inner peace. Some people may help me along the way, but ultimately, it is my responsibility.

Gifts from the Heart

When I think of romantic Christmas stories, the first one that comes to mind is the short story The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry written in 1906. It is a well known story about a newlywed couple who have very little money and want to buy gifts for one another for Christmas.

Della has long, beautiful hair she sells to purchase a watch chain for her husband's most prized possession, his pocket watch. Meanwhile, Jim sells his pocket watch to purchase a set of tortoise combs with jewels for Della's hair. When Jim and Della exchange gifts they realize the gift they received is truly a gift from the heart.

When I was at the mall tonight, I wondered how many gifts are given from the heart?

My Treasured Book

I have often wrote about my mom reading to me as a child, and I am very thankful she did take the time to read to me. I have one of the books she read stories to me from on the bookshelf in the family room titled The Illustrated Treasury of Children's Literature edited by Margaret Martignoni, copyright date of 1955.

It was this book where I believe I was first introduced to so many stories and poems. It is a large book, and I remember when I was growing up, using the book to press flowers between the pages. The strange thing is, some of the pressed flowers from my youth remain in the book today.

For me, the sentimental aspect of the book is not only that my mom read from it to me as a child, but the pencil check marks in the table of contents remind me what stories I read to my children. It is one of my most treasured books.

Our Trip to Narnia

Sure enough, when I woke up this morning, the trees were covered in snow. It looked magical outside. When I picked my youngest son up at school at the end of the day, we were talking about how beautiful the tree branches looked all covered in snow. I laughed, when he said the trees didn't have time to prepare for the snow since the other day it was so warm outside.

But I think my favorite thing, was when he looked at me, and said "Mom, don't you think it looks like Narnia?" I smiled, and agreed with him. As I looked over at him in the car, our eyes met and we both laughed and for just a brief second, I believe he and I visited Narnia.

First Snow of the Season

Tonight is the first snow, and I am thinking tomorrow morning there will be a few inches of snow on the ground.

I love looking out at the forest when the tree branches are all covered in snow. It reminds me of a miniature forest scene with trees made out of chenille stems covered in white cotton!

Any Where. Any Place. Any Time.

"Then she saw a star fall, leaving behind it a bright streak of fire. “Someone is dying,” thought the little girl, for her old grandmother, the only one who had ever loved her, and who was now dead, had told her that when a star falls, a soul was going up to God.”

- Hans Christian Andersen, The Little Match Girl

I remember my mom reading this story to me, and how sorry I felt for the little girl as she desperately tried to keep warm. I still remember the feeling of sadness at the end of the story, crying and my mom comforting me.

With my imagination, and a good story, I can be any where, at any place, at any time.