Gifts of Christmas

Two dear friends and I walked and talked early this morning.  One friend recently lost her husband to cancer and she is now recovering from an accident that has impaired her mobility.  She confided that she wasn't in the Christmas spirit.  As much for myself, as for her, I shared that she had the true gift of Christmas in her faith, love and positive outlook.  Most importantly, she has the true gifts of Christmas, despite the reality that she is not enthusiastic about the external trappings of the Christmas season. And sharing those would be gift enough for those who matter!

What's on Your Mind?

Challenge yourself to quickly write down 25 things, not people, then see why these came to mind.

My list contained:

• celebratory words: birthday cake, ice cream cone, wine glass, pumpkin (Halloween)
• pampering/comfort words: bathtub, lotion, nail polish, cat, ice maker, potted plant, red mitten (childhood)
• entertainment/exercise words: airline ticket, fishing rod, movie, book, monopoly game, bicycle, tennis shoe
• connecting words: telephone, coin (Lucky Penny Experiment) 
• putting best foot forward words: shoe, bracelet, snowflake (being best unique self)
• necessary words: umbrella (Houston's 2.5" above average rainfall)

This was simply an exercise that I did to stimulate creativity, and it's interesting to me that every seemingly random word on my list related to things that are meaningful to me.

What's on your mind?

Gotta Getta ...

Years ago, when our children were young and Beanie Babies were the "must have" items, we searched high and low for the animals that they most wanted.  The adventure was exciting and frustrating.  And the fascination was relatively short-lived. 

This reminds me that we need to think through the things we really "gotta get".