The Holidays
(I'm behind schedule this week, so this was written on the fly and unedited. :) )
It always seems to take forever for Halloween to get here, a holiday I personally dislike, but that'll be a blog topic for next year, and then WHAM! the holidays are upon us and everybody gets even busier than they already are. For me, the holidays are about family and gathering and sharing the love we have for one another. For others, the season holds loneliness and even despair, which makes me incredibly sad. I always think of these things because I am so blessed to have family and the love of family. I live too far away from my family to celebrate the holidays with them, but they are always in my heart even more during the holidays.
This year, I've lost my Granny, but I do not get sad for myself. I think of my mother and how hard it must be for her this year. This will be the first year she will have no mother to sit at the table full of food and hear her stories and laughter. Granny was a Marine, a tough cookie in my book, but she was also full of joy. She had a warm smile for everyone and a great sense of humor. Whenever I think of her, I think of her service to our country, her laughter and her questions. Whenever I was able to be with her she had a jillion questions, but I never thought of them as being nosy as some might. She was simply curious, a quality I share with her.
A couple years ago, my mother got all us girls together for a fifth generation picture. What a precious gift that memory is for me and that picture hangs prominently in my hall where I walk by it dozens of times a day. I love to look at her infectious, smiling face, full of life and am so glad I am related. I sure hope I can live my life as she did and be able to give that gift of her legacy to my children and grandchildren.
I'm getting sidetracked with my memories, but that is also the point of this post: treasure your good memories of those you love and who love you. That is a blessing all by itself and the holidays, whether you are fortunate enough to be in the presence of those you love or not, the memories of just being loved is the most important blessing of all. It is easy for people to say, "Do not be sad." But it is another thing altogether to walk that talk.
It has been a hard couple of years for me lately with my husband becoming disabled and losing his income. To take my focus off of what we don't have, I made a decision to keep a notebook and write down at least ONE blessing a day. Some days are easy to find a blessing in; I got to speak with my son, or a small, unexpected gift arrived. Other days I have to look for one; it was sunny and warm enough to keep the heater from coming on (which saves money), or my Facebook friends posted something funny that made me laugh. Some days are really difficult to find a blessing so I simply look around my house; I have a roof over my head, clothes on my back and food on the table. So it's not the house I truly desire or the location I wish to be in, I have hand me down clothes and cannot afford to buy anything, not even a sweater I want, but I have four walls in which I can stay warm, and I have clothes to keep me warm. And here's one other thing: I woke up on the right side of the grass! I have actually written that a few days this year.
It can be depressing, but depression should not take over your life, not to the point of giving up. I have kept up my notebook and look forward to Thanksgiving day, after filling my belly with good food my husband and I cook together, to reading our blessings this year. I will highlight the best ones of each month and focus on those memories. Those are the best spirit lifters, for lack of better grammar here. My point of this blog is this: make a decision - change your mind, and you will change your life!
Need some encouragement? Check out Hope4Depression on Facebook where I post bits of encouragement nearly daily. Call a friend, listen to your favorite music, read a book, watch a comedy movie, but DO something to change your focus of the circumstance or feelings. Both of those are guaranteed to change. May you be overwhelmed with the blessings I wish for you!
