While shopping for items I'll use this holiday season, I came across a box of "elegant" plastic tableware.
Elegant?
Plastic forks?
Yeah........no.
They're plastic forks, people.
Did I buy some? Yup. They were on sale, and they'll come in handy when I'm having a quick lunch at the office.
But elegant? Heh.
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
"Groundhog Day"
I found myself reflecting on that Bill Murray comedy as the second day of the second month neared, wondering why I have such a fondness for it. Like the movie's charm itself, the answer crept up on me.
On the surface, it seems like another goofball Murray comedy - but it turns into much more than that.
At its heart, it's a tale of redemption; of second (and third and fourth and fifth and...) chances; and it allows the audience to ponder the tantalizing question, "If you had the chance to live a day over again, what would you change?"
Murray's character is a study in contrasts, veering down the path of selfishness in search of both his goals and his escape, and then he starts noticing all the little - yet vitally important - moments that unfold over the course of a single day.
And as he begins reaching out to those around him, seeing how he can help them instead of how they can help him, he is transformed. For all the trappings of....being trapped.....it's a story of hope.
Call me a sucker, but I like those.
Some day soon, I'll pull that movie down from the shelf and watch it again...and be reminded of why I enjoy it.
On the surface, it seems like another goofball Murray comedy - but it turns into much more than that.
At its heart, it's a tale of redemption; of second (and third and fourth and fifth and...) chances; and it allows the audience to ponder the tantalizing question, "If you had the chance to live a day over again, what would you change?"
Murray's character is a study in contrasts, veering down the path of selfishness in search of both his goals and his escape, and then he starts noticing all the little - yet vitally important - moments that unfold over the course of a single day.
And as he begins reaching out to those around him, seeing how he can help them instead of how they can help him, he is transformed. For all the trappings of....being trapped.....it's a story of hope.
Call me a sucker, but I like those.
Some day soon, I'll pull that movie down from the shelf and watch it again...and be reminded of why I enjoy it.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Holidaze
A quiet Christmas at my sister's house in rural Reno County, a day to tackle laundry and then a trip out to the farm for our "official" family Christmas on Saturday. I've got a week off now - well, a bit more than that, really, since I don't return to work 'til early January - and it comes at a good time.
I could use the time to relax, recharge and tackle a few tasks that have needed my attention. I'll also try to offer a few posts that have been germinating but I haven't had time to harvest. (How's that for a full farming analogy? Heh)
May the holidays be filled with delightful times with those you love.
I could use the time to relax, recharge and tackle a few tasks that have needed my attention. I'll also try to offer a few posts that have been germinating but I haven't had time to harvest. (How's that for a full farming analogy? Heh)
May the holidays be filled with delightful times with those you love.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Oh, those holiday letters!
Holiday letters are one of those topics about which there seems to be no middle ground. Either you love 'em or you hate 'em.
I used to hate them, but as I got older and busier I recognized their place. Friends move away and you don't get to visit with them the way you once did. Life gets busier. One Christmas, not wanting to develop writer's cramp trying to share how my year had gone for each name on my Christmas card list, I broke down and wrote a holiday letter.
People responded to it so well that I did it again the next year...and the year after that. I've been doing it now for more than 15 years.
But holiday letters are tricky. One old schoolmate who received a holiday letter several years ago told me "Congratulations on being so successful" in a tone that belied her words. I guess she thought I was bragging, when all I meant to do was share what had happened in the past year.
I think holiday letters should have a hearty helping of humor in them, though some years it can be more challenging to inject smiles than others - such as 2006 when my dad died and even this year, with so many people facing layoffs and other challenges.
I don't know. Maybe I'm one of those rare souls who falls in the middle on holiday letters. If you want to send one, great. If you don't, that's fine, too. But I'll always read it, because I care about the people who sent it.
I used to hate them, but as I got older and busier I recognized their place. Friends move away and you don't get to visit with them the way you once did. Life gets busier. One Christmas, not wanting to develop writer's cramp trying to share how my year had gone for each name on my Christmas card list, I broke down and wrote a holiday letter.
People responded to it so well that I did it again the next year...and the year after that. I've been doing it now for more than 15 years.
But holiday letters are tricky. One old schoolmate who received a holiday letter several years ago told me "Congratulations on being so successful" in a tone that belied her words. I guess she thought I was bragging, when all I meant to do was share what had happened in the past year.
I think holiday letters should have a hearty helping of humor in them, though some years it can be more challenging to inject smiles than others - such as 2006 when my dad died and even this year, with so many people facing layoffs and other challenges.
I don't know. Maybe I'm one of those rare souls who falls in the middle on holiday letters. If you want to send one, great. If you don't, that's fine, too. But I'll always read it, because I care about the people who sent it.
Monday, December 1, 2008
A heart-tugging moment
On Thanksgiving morning, I was outside talking with my twin brother and brother-in-law when Ed, one of my older brothers, came around the corner next to the machine shop.
Thanks to the flat-topped hat and gray sweatshirt he had on - which Dad liked to wear - I did a doubletake. He looked so much like Dad it was chilling.
Later that morning, my sister Trish said she and Mom had the same reaction when they saw him. We lost Dad two years ago, yet for just a heart-quickening moment they both thought he had walked through the door.
"I cried," Mom told me later. "I couldn't help it."
I don't blame her one bit.
Thanks to the flat-topped hat and gray sweatshirt he had on - which Dad liked to wear - I did a doubletake. He looked so much like Dad it was chilling.
Later that morning, my sister Trish said she and Mom had the same reaction when they saw him. We lost Dad two years ago, yet for just a heart-quickening moment they both thought he had walked through the door.
"I cried," Mom told me later. "I couldn't help it."
I don't blame her one bit.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Snowflakes on the lawn
I awoke to snow coating car tops and lawns ---- as if nature decided to announce the launch of the Christmas season with a little frosting.
"I can't believe it snowed!" my 9-year-old niece, Donna, said, so delighted she went outside without a hat on, or even much of a coat.
That didn't please the grown-ups much, since she's been battling a sporadic fever for the past few days. But part of me couldn't blame my twin brother's second-oldest daughter. The first measurable snow of the season is always something of a marvel, no matter how many winters you've seen.
The snowfall didn't last long, and the layer on the lawn won't, either. But we'll still remember it. A peaceful snowfall observed with a cup of hot tea or coffee, the sound of nieces cracking open pecans for snacking or baking, the aroma of chicken noodle soup on the stove, the buzz of small children at play....such moments are what help make holidays special.
"I can't believe it snowed!" my 9-year-old niece, Donna, said, so delighted she went outside without a hat on, or even much of a coat.
That didn't please the grown-ups much, since she's been battling a sporadic fever for the past few days. But part of me couldn't blame my twin brother's second-oldest daughter. The first measurable snow of the season is always something of a marvel, no matter how many winters you've seen.
The snowfall didn't last long, and the layer on the lawn won't, either. But we'll still remember it. A peaceful snowfall observed with a cup of hot tea or coffee, the sound of nieces cracking open pecans for snacking or baking, the aroma of chicken noodle soup on the stove, the buzz of small children at play....such moments are what help make holidays special.
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