All good things come to an end

Ok ok, I know, it’s only football but it sure would have been nice for the Broncos to beat the Patriots. I really never thought we would win but you never know. If you follow football, you know the term “any given Sunday” which means any team can beat any team, on any given Sunday. Well the Patriots brought us and Tebowmania back to earth for at least a week. Oh well, in the grand scheme of things, it’s just a game.

We arrived home around 6:15 and rushed to get ready to head down the street to meet Santa. After a few songs accompanied by bells and other instruments handed out by Santa, each child (from about 7 to 20) went up and sat on Santa’s lap and received a gift. The family who invited us are great and have included us for 3 or 4 years now. We and one other family, also with kids, are the only ones invited on the street. Today John (the dad) is taking his whole family to Jamaica for 5 days, what fun for them.

We made it home by 8:30 or so and then Jennifer’s mom came to pick her up as she had joined us for the party. The oldest one had a pretty rough day yesterday. It must have been some kind of birthday hangover as he was feeling pretty sorry for himself.

Everyone gets in a funk now and then (I hear my Mom is blaming me for the Green Bay Packers loss as I told her before the game that this is the one game they could lose!) but we all need to remember the big picture. Sure some of us would like more money, some would like a better job, some would like 6 pak abs (that’d be me!), some would like loved ones to still be with us or live closer but these things are not always in God’s plan. It’s up to us to remain strong and keep our heads up and live each day to the fullest. Remember you also (in most circumstances) can do something about it if you really want to. Now we can’t bring the youngest ones Grandpa back (something he repeatedly wishes for), but if I really want 6 pak abs, I can change things in my life and get them, if I’m willing to sacrifice what I need to, to do so. If one of you wants a new job or career, go after it! I know Grandma Dixie is missing her daughter and the grandkids these days, well get on a plane and get out here! Even if only for a few days. Where there’s a will, there’s a way, didn’t someone famous say that? The point is, don’t fall into the trap of believing you can’t do something if you really really want to. You’d be surprised what you can do if you put your mind to it or if you really really want it! Ok enough preaching for today, it’s Christmas week.

It almost doesn’t feel like Christmas but last night with Santa helped put us in the spirit. It comes so fast and then poof, it’s gone. We have to, as they say, take time to stop and smell the roses. Life is precious and we must enjoy each and every moment. When all the kids were sitting on Santa’s lap last night and he was asking each one what they wanted for Christmas, I thought to myself, what do I want and then it hit me, time. Time to enjoy my family, travel, read, relax and so on. The misses and I read an article in the paper the other day titled “What can we learn from French living”. The jist (is that a word?) of it is that the French are better at living than we are, way better. It says, get ready for this, that Americans are, and I quote, “galumphing, unrefined, consumption-addicted clods”. Even peasants in France use tablecloths. It goes on to say they would never eat pizza from a box in front of the tv and zone out. And it’s not all about money, not at all! They live very well compared to the average American. Think about it, in many ways our lives have become unmanageable,  our homes are filled with clutter, were slaves to technology (like this computer, ha, ha) and we move too fast through life and don’t, as I said earlier, stop and smell the roses. So here are the few steps to ponder to get more out of life.

1. Start by living in the moment, calm down. If you’ve ever sat in a cafe in the morning in Paris with your coffee and pastry, you know what I mean. In fact they enjoy every single meal. There’s no one rushing through their food or eating on the run!

2. Use the best you can. Use your good China and cloth napkins every day. Those in our family are the ones we love the most yet we only pull these out when guests or holidays come around, why?

3. Relish the little things. It says no American manufactured soap can compare to french milled soap, guess what, they’re right. It’s amazing how much difference a bar of soap makes.

4. Reject materialism. We don’t need all the latest and greatest things they pound into our heads with endless advertising or brainwashing that we are exposed to every day. It’s better to have a few really nice things than a house full of fads.

5. Pursue quality pastimes, always have dessert and good conversation, especially at meal time. Then listen to good music and read something! Life should be about conversation and connection through the arts. A 6 year old french child knows more about the arts and history than the average 40 year old American!

I could go on but you get the point. Now I’m not saying everything about France is better than America, quite the contrary, but we can all learn how to get more and enjoy life more from most cultures in Europe. I’m just saying, take a look at it, we need to slow down and take stock of what’s important in our lives which to me is family and friends, not the tv and endless pursuit of material things that are here today and gone tomorrow. Think about it, every year at Christmas they have the latest fashion or electronic or toy we all have to have and by the next year, it’s on close out or not even salable. Hmmm.

Oh well, I guess I’m preaching again. It’s a big week and with the coming new year, we can all start contemplating our resolutions for 2012. We hope you all are well, take care, God Bless and stop and think about what YOU want, then go after it. Trust me, you’ll be amazed what you can accomplish.