Grievances: Real or Imagined

... Lurene and Tim at his birthday party ...

Sometimes grievances, real or imagined can get in the way of happiness.

But I don’t seem to carry my grievances (real or imagined) that way.

I find myself waking up every morning, just thrilled to have another day ahead of me – even if that day includes going to the dentist, which my life included today.

I feel that little pinch that comes with the freezing and think how lucky I am to have a dentist and good dental care.

... Marcia and Arta wearing necklaces designed by Wyona ...

My life is rich.

I wake up early.

I have a chance to do exercises, which I detest, but I still love doing them, since doing them is better than letting my joints get stiff, or not being able to walk at all.

Now it is the middle of December, or just about.

Wyona and Greg, the last of the 6 guests at Tim's birthday party

I have all of my Christmas decorations out, at least the ones I am getting out.

Not that I want them out. Decorating takes so long: little tiny ornaments on trees, finding batteries for small trains that will play tinny Christmas melodies, using the glue gun to repair ornaments that are broken now.

Everything Christmas decoration that stands (as opposed to hangs) is on my island.

To me it looks like an unholy potpourri of objects collected over 50 years.

But my grandchildren like to touch them, or turn on the batteries to them -- and that is what Christmas is about.

... Tim, good-naturedly posing with his birthday hat on ..

I can still name the places where the ornaments were purchased and about most of them I can remember the prices. That makes me laugh.

I try to group them by colour so that they don’t look like I have just come from a garage sale – all the white and silver ones in the same place. It doesn’t help much.

Zoe looked at my decorations last night.

She brought over her new game of Azul, but before playing it with me, she turned every battery operated decoration on, and then off and she also took apart my Nativity Nesting Dolls, which turn out to be a lot of fun.

Zoe beat me four games straight.
Sometimes she doubled my score.
Ouch to that for me.

Not only is there the puzzle of getting them apart, but then they have to be regrouped so that the wisemen stand together, and so that the animals are with the shepherds.

I noticed that just about everyone touches the nativities moves the characters into a slightly different position.

I like to do that myself – to other people’s nativities.

For Christians, Christmas – the most wonderful time of the year.

Arta