Snooze Button

Facebook has a new feature. It allows one to "snooze" a person or page for 30 days. 

So today, I hit the snooze button multiple times. I am tired of much of what I see on Facebook and this helps make it more manageable. 

I am mainly tired of the personal attacks on people who politics are different from someone else's. I am not talking about a civil debate. I am talking about calling people names like "Rethuglican" or "Libtard." What good does that do exactly? And I am disappointed in a number of people who are using this language and/or unkind images to make their points. Others I just expect it from, so it is not a surprise. Snooze. 

I also am snoozing some folks who constantly make negative posts. I may be having a lousy day, but unless I am asking for prayer for a specific situation, I am going to try to find something uplifting to post most of the time. Something that strikes my funny bone or something that inspires me. 

I unfriend as a last resort. But, I have done it. 

Now if I could find something to automatically snooze all pictures of snakes for the duration, I would really be in business! 

Christmas Eve Musings

On Christmas Eve night, I am usually awake hours after my husband has gone off to dreamland, trying to wind down from my relatively few Christmas preparations and my singing for one or more church services. 

I think of Christmases past, both happy and sad. I have been blessed with a nice, peaceful Christmas so far this year and every year I have such a Christmas, I am beyond grateful.

I think of my friends who are not having a merry Christmas. Those grieving the loss of loved ones, homes, jobs, relationships and dreams. And I hope they can find some glimmer of joy in their darkness. 

I think of my friends who just don't enjoy the holiday. Money, gifts, crowds, and the need to be "on" just sucks the joy out of the season for them. I wish them pockets of peace and calm. 

I also think of my friends who have to make everything perfect and are simply devastated when things do not go as expected. I wish for them some flexibility and ability to roll with the punches!

After tomorrow, for better or worse, Christmas 2017 will be over for most. For me, it will be the first day of the 12 days of Christmas. I am going to enjoy every one. 

Christmas Cards

For the first time in our 34 year marriage, my husband and I did not send out Christmas cards together. I have a group of mostly elderly friends that I send postcards to several times a year. An app on my phone can take my art and make it into a lovely, glossy postcard with a message on the back. My handwriting has suffered due to nerve issues in my neck and hands and this is a way to let people know that I am thinking about them that is manageable for me. 

But, usually, Bill and I send out some regular cards to friends and family. I like to write at least something personal in each one. And, I do enjoy doing it. This year, with the medical procedures and doctor visits taking up large chunks of my days, I just did not seem to have the energy left to do proper cards. Neither did my better half. 

I hope to resume the tradition next year. But, I also hope that my family and friends know that I care about them 365 days a year, not just at Christmas. And next year, there will be cards! 

The New Fridge

Recently, our 20+-year-old refrigerator was beginning to have problems that were more costly to fix than the price of a new one. It was time to go shopping, so off to the local Cowboy Maloney, we went. 

Our last refrigerator was a side by side and I liked not having frozen food fall on my feet. The style was set. I was lobbying for our first refrigerator with an ice maker, but my husband was unsure. "Just one more thing to break down," he grumbled. 

When we got to the store, we discovered that we could not even buy a side by side without an ice maker and water in the door. As luck would have it, my husband was going to be dragged into the 20th, if not the 21st century, whether he liked it or not! 

After a week of this luxury, I can't imagine how we lived without it! The first thing I want in the morning is a glass of half sweet/half unsweet tea. Now I can have it with my own crushed ice. The crew at Sonic on Hall's Ferry is probably wondering what happened to me. I still have to have my Sonic ice fix, but it is nice to have this option right at my fingertips. 

The funny thing is how much the hubby likes it. He is as hooked as I am. 

Maybe worse. 

Advent

I have not put up a Christmas tree, nor have I set up any decorations. I have not been to any Christmas themed events. I have not addressed one Christmas card and I have not even begun playing Christmas music yet. 

Instead, I am preparing for the first Sunday in Advent tomorrow. That lovely time of anticipation and waiting for the birth of Jesus Christ. We will light the first candle, the HOPE candle, on the advent wreath. We will sing O Come, O Come, Emmanuel for our hymn. But, we won't "Christmas" just yet. 

I have found that, if I do things too early, the luster of Christmas dims with the familiarity. The tree, even though artificial, can seem a bit careworn by the real Christmas season. The carols, although some of my favorite music in the world, get old if they are all I hear in December. I would rather wait a bit and enjoy them more fully as Christmas Day approaches. I want people to get my Christmas cards a little later after the early birds have sent theirs in. I have seen Christmas weeks where everything fun had already been done in the weeks before. 

I realize that those with children and grandchildren have to go after those toys while they are able to be had. Those entertaining need to get a jump on the preparations. And the fun must be had while it is available. 

But, wouldn't it be nice to just back up a bit, relax, and enjoy the season of Advent?