Christmas memories from childhood creep into my awareness and I swear right now I can smell the aroma of a mince pie cooking despite an empty oven. I relive the agonizing anticipation that built in me during that last half hour on Christmas morning before the household started stirring and we could inspect the goodies in our bulging Christmas stockings. Magically, during the night while we slept, they were tucked next to our beds so that they would be the first thing we saw when we awoke in the morning.
The stocking experience is the quintessential spirit of Christmas for me. Our family is large (10 of us kids), so the production of the elf squad was severely taxed to meet the Christmas Eve deadline. The stocking contents varied each year, but as the years rolled along, a collection of essentials became mandatory. Especially memorable are the wind-up toys: drum-beating marching musicians, dinosaurs stomping, race cars clattering, every creative incarnation imaginable.
Nuts, fruits and sweets filled the smaller spaces, with a Clementine in each toe. Exotica included tinned smoked oysters, clams and mussels. A yearly set of jacks or paddle balls were expected. All the edibles were consumed willy-nilly before breakfast: smoked oysters on top of marzipan on top of freshly cracked walnuts.
The stocking tradition has become one of our most treasured family memories. All year long we remained on shopping alert collecting oddities, squirreling them away for the Christmas Eve wrapping and stocking stuffing marathon. One year two of my sisters in adjacent beds shared real stockings: ready-to-be-discarded panty hose; they each got one stuffed leg.
Michael and I wish each of you a warm Christmas season filled with treasured memories: those of the past as well as those yet to be generated.
Copyright 2008
www.lindalater.blogspot.com
Posted December 26, 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
A Nice Boring Life
As a fifteen-year-old I dreamed of having an exciting life. I’m not sure I had a clear idea of what that entailed, but I was sure I would recognize it if I saw it. Countless exciting opportunities flung themselves across my path through life and rarely did one go by without my investigating if not actually acting on it. Curiosity urged me on to many adventures. (See http://www.flickr.com/photos/lee_guilfoyle/2739015404 for one example.)
Ultimately, over time and with a developing sense of self-preservation, I balanced unbridled curiosity with an ever-improving skill in risk analysis. There eventually came a tipping point at which the discarded opportunities began to outnumber the presenting possibilities. Life by Chance was beginning to pall. I yearned for a “nice boring life.”
It has taken me years to craft a Life by Choice rather than awaiting the capricious appearance of opportunities. Now I seek miniature wonders in the world around me. A plethora of corn and soybean fields nearby comfort me with their verdant textures fluctuating through seasonal changes. Morning walks take me past telephone wires laden with societies of song birds that, alarmed, rise in concert to flee my approach. As spring nears, we look forward to welcoming the return of nest-building ospreys and the appearance of their fledglings.
I am thankful for a rich life crammed with many diverse experiences and fascinating people eager to share their zest for life with a kindred soul. Fortunately, many are still in my life, including my beloved mate with his endless forbearance and leavening influence on my most ambitious enthusiasms. Thank all of you for being there with me over the long haul and advance thanks to those of you who have yet to appear.
Copyright 2008
www.lindalater.blogspot.com
Posted December 18, 2008
Ultimately, over time and with a developing sense of self-preservation, I balanced unbridled curiosity with an ever-improving skill in risk analysis. There eventually came a tipping point at which the discarded opportunities began to outnumber the presenting possibilities. Life by Chance was beginning to pall. I yearned for a “nice boring life.”
It has taken me years to craft a Life by Choice rather than awaiting the capricious appearance of opportunities. Now I seek miniature wonders in the world around me. A plethora of corn and soybean fields nearby comfort me with their verdant textures fluctuating through seasonal changes. Morning walks take me past telephone wires laden with societies of song birds that, alarmed, rise in concert to flee my approach. As spring nears, we look forward to welcoming the return of nest-building ospreys and the appearance of their fledglings.
I am thankful for a rich life crammed with many diverse experiences and fascinating people eager to share their zest for life with a kindred soul. Fortunately, many are still in my life, including my beloved mate with his endless forbearance and leavening influence on my most ambitious enthusiasms. Thank all of you for being there with me over the long haul and advance thanks to those of you who have yet to appear.
Copyright 2008
www.lindalater.blogspot.com
Posted December 18, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Windows on our World
The first thing I notice about getting better is my energy level. Stretches of time stitch themselves along when suddenly I notice that I am doing significantly more than I was able to do a few months previously. A window opens and the fresh air of awareness arouses my senses to an appreciation of returning health.
Despite the onset of winter, the days seem longer because we are living each day more fully. As the sun sets, I can look at a list of minor accomplishments and extract a sense of achievement for having crossed them off the “to do” list. Before Diagnosis Day two years ago, the approach of dusk typically ignited in me a flair of frustration at the list of chores undone.
My criteria for finding daily satisfaction from accomplishments was high and inching ever higher back in my “normal” days. Instead of savoring the past or anticipating the future, I now find more time for smelling flowers, for tending to the moment, for throwing open windows.
What is different now is the magnitude of energy required to complete each task. As recently as two months ago completing every tiny little task required totally exhausting my energy reserves. Now I can string together several tasks before crumpling. Discovering fresh energy is like throwing a log on a dimming fire: Sparks fly celebrating their liberation. Flames dance with renewed vigor hungrily devouring fresh fuel. Embers glow, radiating intense contentment. All is well with our world.
As the year draws to an end, we wish the same renewal for you and your family in the minutes, months and years of your lives to come.
Copyright 2008
www.lindalater.blogspot.com
Posted December 11, 2008
Despite the onset of winter, the days seem longer because we are living each day more fully. As the sun sets, I can look at a list of minor accomplishments and extract a sense of achievement for having crossed them off the “to do” list. Before Diagnosis Day two years ago, the approach of dusk typically ignited in me a flair of frustration at the list of chores undone.
My criteria for finding daily satisfaction from accomplishments was high and inching ever higher back in my “normal” days. Instead of savoring the past or anticipating the future, I now find more time for smelling flowers, for tending to the moment, for throwing open windows.
What is different now is the magnitude of energy required to complete each task. As recently as two months ago completing every tiny little task required totally exhausting my energy reserves. Now I can string together several tasks before crumpling. Discovering fresh energy is like throwing a log on a dimming fire: Sparks fly celebrating their liberation. Flames dance with renewed vigor hungrily devouring fresh fuel. Embers glow, radiating intense contentment. All is well with our world.
As the year draws to an end, we wish the same renewal for you and your family in the minutes, months and years of your lives to come.
Copyright 2008
www.lindalater.blogspot.com
Posted December 11, 2008
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