Gratitude and Joy: Day 25
I am grateful for:
Friends and Family
I'm certainly not unique in having moved far away from my family or in finding it harder to make friends in my thirties than it was at any other time of my life. I've always been blessed with great friends and wonderful family, but being away from so many of the people I care for the most puts that in sharp relief. I'm grateful for every one of my friends, my family, and the husbeast. The older I get the more I think that making connections with other humans is the point of life.
I feel joyful in the presence of:
Christmas
While I don't necessarily feel the religious joy of Christmas that devout Christians do, there is something about this time that does touch me, that does fill me with joy. Maybe it's a learned response, maybe it's some kind of collective memory of light festivals around the winter solstice, maybe it really is the good news. Whatever the reason, of Christmas "I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!"*
*A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, Stave I
Monday, December 25, 2017
Sunday, December 24, 2017
Gratitude and Joy: Our Weather Guy and Giddy Scrooge
Gratitude and Joy: Day 24
I am grateful for:
Our Local Weather Guy
The gentleman who does weather commentary in our local paper is amazing. He knows his stuff and he explains it well, always making clear what's actually happening all up in the atmospheres and explaining what might develop and what's likely to develop. Our weather is pretty much 90% run of the mill, but the other 10% might kill you. I find his level-headed, intelligent commentary indispensable and frankly, instrumental in helping me keep perspective in a world where alarmist weather sells.
I feel joy watching:
Scrooge Finding Joy in His Redemption
My favorite adaptation of A Christmas Carol is the 1951 version staring Alastair Sim (which is called Scrooge). Sim's portrayal of Scrooge is stunningly perfect, and part of what makes it so good is his performance of the reformed Scrooge. The last seven or eight minutes of the movie is made up of one brilliant joyful scene after another. Here's one of my favorite sequences. This one is a close, close second. (The background music here is perfect.*) Neither of these is the famous Boxing Day morning scene, which you should watch too. It'll have popped up to the side if you clicked either of those links. Oh, just go watch the whole movie.
*"Barbara Allen," what is about how regret over being hardhearted toward your fellow humans can kill you. Scrooge takes a different path by choosing to fix it/himself before it's too late.
I am grateful for:
Our Local Weather Guy
The gentleman who does weather commentary in our local paper is amazing. He knows his stuff and he explains it well, always making clear what's actually happening all up in the atmospheres and explaining what might develop and what's likely to develop. Our weather is pretty much 90% run of the mill, but the other 10% might kill you. I find his level-headed, intelligent commentary indispensable and frankly, instrumental in helping me keep perspective in a world where alarmist weather sells.
I feel joy watching:
Scrooge Finding Joy in His Redemption
My favorite adaptation of A Christmas Carol is the 1951 version staring Alastair Sim (which is called Scrooge). Sim's portrayal of Scrooge is stunningly perfect, and part of what makes it so good is his performance of the reformed Scrooge. The last seven or eight minutes of the movie is made up of one brilliant joyful scene after another. Here's one of my favorite sequences. This one is a close, close second. (The background music here is perfect.*) Neither of these is the famous Boxing Day morning scene, which you should watch too. It'll have popped up to the side if you clicked either of those links. Oh, just go watch the whole movie.
*"Barbara Allen," what is about how regret over being hardhearted toward your fellow humans can kill you. Scrooge takes a different path by choosing to fix it/himself before it's too late.
Saturday, December 23, 2017
Gratitude and Joy: Choir and Es Ist ein Ros Entsprungen
Gratitude and Joy: Day 23
I am grateful for:
My Experiences in Choir
Those of you who have been following along with me here have probably gathered that I deeply cherish the time I spent in choirs when I was in school. In addition to simply loving that time and relishing the memories of that time, I will always be grateful for the way being a part of those choirs taught me that discipline and enjoyment can go hand in hand and the greater appreciation for music it gave me as well.
I feel joy listening to:
"Es Ist ein Ros Entsprungen"
"Es Ist ein Ros Entsprungen" ("Lo, How a Rose e'er Blooming") is another one of those Christmas songs that just stops me dead in my tracks. I feel connected to something greater and timeless when I hear it.
I am grateful for:
My Experiences in Choir
Those of you who have been following along with me here have probably gathered that I deeply cherish the time I spent in choirs when I was in school. In addition to simply loving that time and relishing the memories of that time, I will always be grateful for the way being a part of those choirs taught me that discipline and enjoyment can go hand in hand and the greater appreciation for music it gave me as well.
I feel joy listening to:
"Es Ist ein Ros Entsprungen"
"Es Ist ein Ros Entsprungen" ("Lo, How a Rose e'er Blooming") is another one of those Christmas songs that just stops me dead in my tracks. I feel connected to something greater and timeless when I hear it.
Friday, December 22, 2017
Gratitude and Joy: Recycling Services and Once in Royal David's City
Gratitude and Joy: Day 22
I am grateful for:
Recycling Services
When we first moved here, our apartment didn't have recycling service. None. And as we had no good way to store recyclables until we could make a run to the municipal recycling center, we just didn't recycle at home. This drove me nuts. We have recycling pick-up just like trash pick-up now, and it gives me a little ping of satisfaction every time I drop a milk jug or a newspaper (or cardboard box!) in the bin. And I'm grateful I get to participate in our city's recycling efforts without having to haul stuff out to the center. It's nice that it's easy.
I feel joy listening to:
"Once in Royal David's City"
We sang "Once in Royal David's City" as our processional for our holiday concert every year when I was in chorus in high school. It's been one of my favorites ever since.
I am grateful for:
Recycling Services
When we first moved here, our apartment didn't have recycling service. None. And as we had no good way to store recyclables until we could make a run to the municipal recycling center, we just didn't recycle at home. This drove me nuts. We have recycling pick-up just like trash pick-up now, and it gives me a little ping of satisfaction every time I drop a milk jug or a newspaper (or cardboard box!) in the bin. And I'm grateful I get to participate in our city's recycling efforts without having to haul stuff out to the center. It's nice that it's easy.
I feel joy listening to:
"Once in Royal David's City"
We sang "Once in Royal David's City" as our processional for our holiday concert every year when I was in chorus in high school. It's been one of my favorites ever since.
Thursday, December 21, 2017
Gratitude and Joy: Amazon Prime and Giving Gifts
Gratitude and Joy: Day 21
I am grateful for:
Amazon Prime
If I have a little complicated feeling about Barnes and Noble, I have a big complicated feeling about Amazon. But let me tell ya, Prime is a godsend. We originally signed up for it when we were using a special cat litter that was supposed to be helping one of our elderly cats with box issues. That litter was not reliably available in town and was way cheaper online. We're no longer doing that, but we've kept the Prime after realizing just how many times we've trekked out to the strip mall wasteland for some non-food domestic item, come away frazzled and empty-handed, then found the thing in seconds on Amazon and had it two days later. So I continue to feel some kind of a complicated way about Amazon (the effect on local economies! the environmental impact of all that shipping! the cardboard boxes that end up in my garage!), but for the moment I'm grateful to live in a world where quick shipping of stuff is an option.
I feel joy:
Giving Gifts
I love giving gifts. I love making note of what folks seem to be into and then hunting down the right related gift. I love wrapping presents and picking out just the right tag and ribbon to put on the package. I love thinking about the joy I hope that package and its contents are going to bring the recipient. I love hearing that the gift did indeed bring that joy. Love it, love it, love it. I know lots of people get frustrated with the commercialism and the gimmes that can come with the Christmas season, but I am a happy little nurturer with so many opportunities to try to bring a little happiness to loved ones.
I am grateful for:
Amazon Prime
If I have a little complicated feeling about Barnes and Noble, I have a big complicated feeling about Amazon. But let me tell ya, Prime is a godsend. We originally signed up for it when we were using a special cat litter that was supposed to be helping one of our elderly cats with box issues. That litter was not reliably available in town and was way cheaper online. We're no longer doing that, but we've kept the Prime after realizing just how many times we've trekked out to the strip mall wasteland for some non-food domestic item, come away frazzled and empty-handed, then found the thing in seconds on Amazon and had it two days later. So I continue to feel some kind of a complicated way about Amazon (the effect on local economies! the environmental impact of all that shipping! the cardboard boxes that end up in my garage!), but for the moment I'm grateful to live in a world where quick shipping of stuff is an option.
I feel joy:
Giving Gifts
I love giving gifts. I love making note of what folks seem to be into and then hunting down the right related gift. I love wrapping presents and picking out just the right tag and ribbon to put on the package. I love thinking about the joy I hope that package and its contents are going to bring the recipient. I love hearing that the gift did indeed bring that joy. Love it, love it, love it. I know lots of people get frustrated with the commercialism and the gimmes that can come with the Christmas season, but I am a happy little nurturer with so many opportunities to try to bring a little happiness to loved ones.
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Gratitude and Joy: Our Post Office and A Christmas Carol
Gratitude and Joy: Day 20
I am grateful for:
Our Post Office
My gratitude is not for the post office, itself, as a thing that exists (although if you think about it, it's pretty cool, actually) but rather for the local branch of the post office where I go if I need to mail a package. It is laid out well and the staff is generally efficient and friendly. Especially at this time of year, when going to the post office can be a nightmare that seems like it will never end, I am especially grateful that ours seems to be so well run.
I feel joy reading:
A Christmas Carol
I've been rereading Dickens's A Christmas Carol every year for about twenty years. I love the redemption story, but just as much as that I get lost in Dickens's language and his brilliant descriptions. Reading this novella is the thing that most makes it feel like Christmas to me and it is the last tradition surrounding the holiday I would give up if time or other constraints forced me to lessen my holiday activities in any year. My annual reread starts tonight!
I am grateful for:
Our Post Office
My gratitude is not for the post office, itself, as a thing that exists (although if you think about it, it's pretty cool, actually) but rather for the local branch of the post office where I go if I need to mail a package. It is laid out well and the staff is generally efficient and friendly. Especially at this time of year, when going to the post office can be a nightmare that seems like it will never end, I am especially grateful that ours seems to be so well run.
I feel joy reading:
A Christmas Carol
I've been rereading Dickens's A Christmas Carol every year for about twenty years. I love the redemption story, but just as much as that I get lost in Dickens's language and his brilliant descriptions. Reading this novella is the thing that most makes it feel like Christmas to me and it is the last tradition surrounding the holiday I would give up if time or other constraints forced me to lessen my holiday activities in any year. My annual reread starts tonight!
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Gratitude and Joy: A Friend Teaching Me Crochet and the End of It's a Wonderful Life
Gratitude and Joy: Day 19
I am grateful that:
One of my friends taught me to crochet in middle school
A good friend of mine taught me a basic crochet stitch in middle school. I think someone had just taught her and she was just showing me because kids show each other things they've learned. I don't know how interested I was in it then, but I must have fooled around with some yarn after that because that stitch stuck with me. Years later when I did want to do some actual crocheting, I still remembered how to do that simple stitch, and having that knowledge made it so much easier to learn how to do other things and put together whole projects. Crocheting is one of my favorite hobbies now, one of my go-to things to do when I need some down time or feel the urge to do something with my hands, and I often think of her when I sit down to work on something.
I feel joy watching:
The End of It's a Wonderful Life
I mean, Jimmy Stewart and all his friends singing together around the Christmas tree? How can you not smile?
I am grateful that:
One of my friends taught me to crochet in middle school
A good friend of mine taught me a basic crochet stitch in middle school. I think someone had just taught her and she was just showing me because kids show each other things they've learned. I don't know how interested I was in it then, but I must have fooled around with some yarn after that because that stitch stuck with me. Years later when I did want to do some actual crocheting, I still remembered how to do that simple stitch, and having that knowledge made it so much easier to learn how to do other things and put together whole projects. Crocheting is one of my favorite hobbies now, one of my go-to things to do when I need some down time or feel the urge to do something with my hands, and I often think of her when I sit down to work on something.
I feel joy watching:
The End of It's a Wonderful Life
I mean, Jimmy Stewart and all his friends singing together around the Christmas tree? How can you not smile?
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