Creating New Memories

Often, when we are faced with grief or change, our instinct is to hold on to the familiar.  However, grief and change require us to do things differently.  When we accept that we can't stop time, it frees us to move forward.

Dread prefaces special occasions and holidays.  Changing the expected celebrations allows us to acknowledge our missing, and create new ways of coping and moving forward.

My birthday came far too close to Edgar's death to anticipate celebration.  However, fabulous family and friends created special new memories to create joy and allow me to move forward.

Memorable

We had a fabulous time celebrating Julia's birthday in D.C. this past weekend!  She's an amazing young woman with an incredible intellect, perpetually positive attitude and amazing ability to get others to seize a broad array of diverse entertainment and dining opportunities.

Our wonderful nonstop activities included wide-ranging conversations, spectacular museums, the national zoo, professional baseball, canoeing on the Potomac, a mini spades tournament, painting with a pro, meeting her friends at unexpected venues all around town, birthday brunch, and many other remarkable foodie feasts.

For me, spending time with my precious angel and her equally adoring father, would have been celebratory. However, her perfectly planned, nonstop birthday weekend elevated celebratory, to indelibly memorable.

Great Day!

Today was many degrees warmer than the rest of the week (yeah - cold isn't in my vocabulary) and I decided to alter my normal walking route to walk to the polls for the Houston City Council run-off elections.  So glad that I did!  If I hadn't voted then, as I feared, I would have missed this important civic opportunity.  And, this adjustment to my walking route afforded me the opportunity to enjoy two visits with friends I'd not recently seen. 

There was just enough time to finish my coffee table Christmas decorations before my much anticipated Saturday call with my precious Mama.

A fabulous birthday/Christmas celebration with dear 30+ year friends provided much love and laughter and many more cherished memories and physical gifts.

Then, my best friend and I had the opportunity to enjoy a long fireside chat in the shadow of our Christmas tree.

She left moments before Gar and his pledge brother completed their 10 hour road trip, arriving at our doorstep.

Christmas began today!

More Odometer Oddities

As I got in my car on Gar's birthday this week, my odometer signaled happy birthday with his birth year prominently displayed.  There are always special signs of connectedness in our daily lives.  We need only take time to notice.

Christmas Babies

With no disrespect intended for Jesus, I now have 3 Christmas babies.  Of course, Jesus is the reason for the season.  My beloved nephew, Michael, is now 25.  He was born on Christmas Eve and we just celebrated his 25th birthday.  We've had the distinct privilege to celebrate his birthday each year.  Each year the family gathers for Michael's birthday.  Our celebratory feast marks his special occasion.  After dinner, birthday cake and birthday wrapped presents are opened, we move to our Christmas celebration.

My third Christmas baby is Jax.  Though his birthday is not in the Christmas season, this was his first Christmas and he enchanted 12 adults aged 18 to 79.

Great Adventure

Gar told me to be casually dressed for a surprise birthday adventure yesterday afternoon.  We had a great time at Trans-Siberian Orchestra's winter concert tour!  It was 2 1/2 hours of non-stop entertainment.  I loved everything about it - his novel idea, the terrific shared experience and another wonderful memory.

Life-Size Greetings

There's nothing like spending time with loved ones on special occasions.  College schedules interfere with Julia's late August birthday.  It caused me great angst her freshman year that we wouldn't get to be with her on her actual birthday.  We traced our outlines to make and decorate life-size cutouts of ourselves.  When she opened her one-of-a-kind birthday greeting she was instantly surrounded by those who love her dearly.