Happy Thanksgiving weekend, friends! We traveled to my hometown for turkey dinner and visiting with my family. We had a great meal together at the local Cracker Barrel restaurant. However, I did experience “the empty chair,” since my dad is no longer present at the table. Others have a different sense of longing, after surviving one of the California fires. The empty chair can be a symbol for many situations.
A high school friend shared this blog on her Facebook feed and I would like to feature it in my blog for this week. I could not have said it any better. Well written, sweet truth, and many of us will relate to it. To quote my friend, Lynette, “We all have empty chairs.” I hope, if you have an empty chair in your life, you find this an encouragement.
The writer of the blog post shared below is John Pavlovitz, a writer, pastor, and activist from Wake Forest, North Carolina.His blog is titled Stuff That Needs To Be Said. The link follows the image below.
I hope your Thanksgiving was filled with blessings, even if peppered with a sense of longing, of missing. I give myself time and permission feel both, and that’s OK.
It has been an exceptionally busy work week, so this post shares a few quick thoughts on recent life. I hope something will be of interest to you or something you can relate to as you read.
School Shooting
I am sickened that yet another tragic shooting has occurred. As a former classroom teacher, I would not agree to carry a weapon.
God help us.
Reflections from a Mother’s Heart
I want to recommend a tool to you, if you still have parents living and relationships you treasure. This past fall, a friend of mine shared that she’d used a book, Reflections from a Mother’s Heart, to capture some of her mom’s stories. I ordered the book from Amazon. I also got the similar book for fathers, A Father’s Legacy (now unavailable, sadly). I took both books home with me for an October 2017 visit with my parents. It prompted great conversation which unfolded stories of their lives, some of which were new to me.
Some parents complete the book on their own, but I used pages that appealed to launch the conversations and jotted down notes as they answered. I’m so grateful I did, for my father passed away a month later. His stories from that October weekend keep him close at heart.
Now, once a week, with my mom on the phone, I talk through some of the prompts in the book. She may not always have an answer, but the prompts always lead somewhere to great memories of her younger days. Those stories keep the young, vibrant woman clearly pictured, though now in her 90’s.
I’d discovered this book makes it easier and fun to continue to get to know my mom, and helps trigger memories from her past which honors her as a person who had a full life. Those are precious times. We live about 2,000 miles apart, but our friendship is strengthened through this book.
The great thing about these books is that they can be used with any older friend or family member that is important to you, whose legacy you want to keep. I do need to mention it has sections that are religious, so if that is not part of the life of your loved one, you can pass by those pages.
Winter Weather
The southern California weather has been typical this year. That means some hot summer days, and then some cool winter days. We’ve not had much rain this winter, which bothers many of us because we need that rain. However, in the areas ravaged by fires, no rain means no mudslides.
This week is particularly chilly. I have to laugh as I write that. I grew up in the Midwest and survived bitter cold. So now when the temperature is down in the 60’s, and I feel like I’m freezing, I know my blood has thinned. I’ve adapted to my California habitat. That temperature would feel like spring when I was living through winters in the Chicago area!
Last night, I checked the weather app on my phone and I could not believe my eyes. My town was the coldest, compared to Chicago and Akron – cities where I’ve lived in the past. Crazy! Hopefully you are not visiting in southern California this week to escape from the cold midwest.
The Olympics
My husband and I have spent some time recently watching the various events of the Winter Olympics. The sports capture our interest during these weeks. I just love the Olympic theme played so often during the NBC broadcast. Here’s an interesting little article on the theme and a silly video I found on the KUSC website. I wanted to share these if you are teaching a unit on the Olympics. Or maybe you are an Olympic fan, too.
Here is the silly rendition of the theme, described as “Shaun White and Michael Phelps play the Olympic Fanfare on melodicas. Get your melodica here at http://www.melodicamen.com.”
Wild Chin Hair 