The knee!

The Titanic;  a tale to tell;   a horrific event in history.

Good morning Mary . . . How are you today?   How beautiful you are and how much you remind me of your mother.   Share a holiday hug with your sisters and wish them well from me.

 It has turned cold here in Port Orchard, Washington and there has been a tiny snow flake whirling around but so far nothing has stayed.  We had a lovely winter day with some sunlight and a lot of cold air but nothing that said we couldn't hustle inside and warm up and stay put.    I did go over to Christine's house and watched some of the Hallmark specials;  all light and romantic and fun to watch.   Life should be so predictable, but it isn't and the tales all have a happy ending...my, wouldn't that be a small miracle if it were so.    The holidays are wonderful and we look forward to them but, the proverbial but, we miss the family members and friends who cannot be with us or we with them.    Holidays bring out the wants and the needs to be part of the embrace of family members and that includes friends who have become family;   the holidays bring out the need and want to be part and parcel of the warmth and love of those we like and love. . . but, there it goes again, we have to deal with a myriad of reasons we cannot all be together.  Holidays have a way of calling our attention to the old adage of 'distance makes the heart grow fonder...b.s. makes the grass grow longer' . . . we can do without that distance....but...we just don't have choices.   Where would you be?   If I had the money to travel, first class of course, I would stop in and visit family members near and far.   I would go to Arizona and visit with Andrea and Bob; on to Rhode Island to visit Mary Beth and meet her new grandson, the latest Sullivan family member.   I'd stop to visit John and Jo in Delaware, rest up a couple of days then on to Nevada to see son Michael and visit some dear friends who I left behind there.  I would be remiss if I didn't get back to Brookings, Oregon and see my old neighbors and friends there.   So the body will not go, but...the spirit will.  I have no one left in Connecticut, but the memory of a real winter ice storm when the roads were sheer ice and we had to stop in and take advantage of a friend who put us up for the night.  No electricity, no heat and linoleum on the floors...brr...can still feel the icy cold of the floor...we had fun, yes, fun...candle light, fire place lit, heat and beautiful flames to watch, and best of all a circle of love to keep us all warm.  So there are lots of faces and places we'd like to be sharing with this holiday time and although we cannot go , we still can relive a memory or two and reach out with a simple 'Merry Christmas to all"   and send a greeting on its way.

So today remember the good days and the friends you have not seen for awhile.   Share a card, a call, a hug if you see them, and be one of those sparkles on the tree of life in friendship and love.  Go....Shine!!!   Hugs to all.