Chronicles of Nana

Now that my husband is no longer building a career…I can spend sometime lamenting the sufferable office/business holiday gatherings that occur this time of year…

CELEBRATING THE COMPANY…

For thirty years I have endured this painful ritual in the guise of dutiful wife accompanying ascending husband. I am most grateful walls cannot talk because I have moaned and groaned over this obligation for years. It is not that I am anti-social. Most companies employ wonderful people. But, when drawn together to socialize, grin and pretend merriment at the awkward office party is plenty painful…

WHAT’S THE REASON…?

Personal private parties among friends is one thing and having family gatherings is another. The company show of appreciation during the holidays become obligatory, employees go to be seen for various nefarious reasons. As one who does not consume alcohol it can be a long night of sipping a Shirley Temple with a soggy celery stick! And what do people talk about at company parties..?….work! As a lone housewife with five kids with runny noses it does not lend to accomplished conversation indeed! Besides, we are paying the babysitter by the hour!!

As the cocktails flow, the appetizers become unappetizing and the main meal becomes raucious and tasteless. The feet hurt, the mascara stings the eyes, and the girdle  pinches the gut…

One drags themself home to a messy house destroyed by out of control kids knowing tomorrow is going to really suck!

Now, I have heard alot of business and deals are made at company social events and the golf course. That is probably a truism, even today. However……

I still hope that modern day companies might consider giving the gift of time and money to their employees instead of the boring gatherings at a local restaurant that have so long existed in the past. Simplicity is the key…

Christmas is to remember the reason for the season and bring children and families together in love and joy..and that’s where the parties should be!

Well…I am an old Nana and in my years of enduring Presidential debates I have never seen religion take such a frontal position…in years passed it did no  seem to matter if a candidate was religious, had a particular religion or just played at the beach most Sundays! The 2008 Presidential races have become an enlightenment of public ignorance and scattered bigotry that makes me wonder WWJD….

THE GREAT DIVIDE….

I am bored to tears that church and state (government) have become the talk of the town. I am also sick and tired of media people attempting to give a play by play concerning the Mormon beliefs when they do not know from what they speak! I am an old journalism junkie so I know a thing or two concerning “getting the story straight and straight news reporting.” Researching the facts used to be a big deal….

I remember the Kennedy Catholic speech and it didn’t appear necessary then…I don’t remember all the hellabaloo concerning a Catholic in the White House. Wasn’t those the Camelot years…?

A WELL ESTABLISHED WAY OF LIFE…

Mormonism exists and is thriving with more than 13 million members worldwide. It is much more than a “Sunday go to meeting” kind of religion, it is a way of life that teaches kindness, tolerance and follows strictly the teachings and examples of the Lord Jesus Christ. It has opened it’s arms to the world in it’s charity works, self-reliance and endless efforts to share a way of life that can bring direction and peace into the troubled world and kindness and forgiveness into the human spirit and soul. Members within this religious organization try hard to exemplify honor, humility and respect to all living things made by the generous hand of the Almighty.

I have never seen an organization more open with it’s doctines and beliefs, more willing to share it’s goodness and precepts or more welcoming to offer the joy it can bring to those in search of a spiritual anchor.

BIGOTS..WHERE’S THE RAID..?

To degrade the good works of a God fearing people because of other “religious beliefs” is bigotry in action and about as far from Christ-like attributes as there can be. Shame on those who speak out of ignorance and shame on those who use the sanctified right of a individual to walk “into the light” of his own choosing as a springboard for political favor and attention.

Oil and water….politics and religion…. where the anti-acid!!?

And where’s 2009!!!

I would be remise if I did not mention and praise the ability to shop online….this year especially at Christmas time I have had to totally rely on online shopping….

OUT OF MALL TRAFFIC…

I am here to give thanks for all of those who for some reason cannot traverse the malls anymore…I mean who would want to ..? Mall shopping died for me many years ago when it dawned on me that I was not the targeted audience…clothing for the more mature figure just does not exist in the teeny booper boutiques now that frequent mall stores. It just does not turn me on to be turned out by the local mall with not one single satisfying purchase.

REMEMBERING THE EXPERIENCE…

Oh… I miss the cinnabon, hot dog on a stick and the people watching. But for a satisfying shopping experience I just don’t look toward the local malls. This year, even my fuller-time working Mom daughter has moaned…”I must be able to get this online!” After spending all day in the elements of the stressful work environment, it just does not feel like fun to fight the crowds and out of stocks at the mall.

For me…Malls are where one goes for food alittle less fast and a place to take grandkids to see Santa. It’s a place to frequent really special specialty shops…like Sees Candies!

I discovered QVC years ago….I took to it like a duck does to water…quack, quack! (inside joke!) For one, with most of the clothing lines, they run the gambet in sizes….even for me! QVC stands for quality, value and convenience…and I believe that. You may ask, why would someone be willing to buy something off a TV screen? Why not..? The hosts talk the product to death, one sees how it operates, how it looks on all body types and there is a 30 day return policy. So if you do not like it, it can be returned with no question. One may ask…but the handling and shipping charges..? Well.. with the price of gas and the inconveniences of mall shopping that argument is blown out of the water. One’s time is definitely worth something nowadays.

With so much to do and accomplish during the holidays, it is a relief to shop online regardless of weather, out of stocks and not your size.

I have become one of UPS greatest supporters…nice to know I have contributed to the Merry Christmas of thousands of UPS employees…

No bah humbug from me!! Have a Merry one!!

They say the holidays can bring on depression…true enough. We all harken back to our childhood and step back to better times unfrettered with stress, worry, bills and taxes. Sweet memories can be had with the burdens of life off our back with no pressing responsibilities and only childlike wonder of Santa and friends….

LOOKING IN THE MIRROR….

But, this year has been exceptionally hard for me somehow. I suppose most of my discomfort has come from the untimely death of my counterpart…my youngest daughter’s Mom-in-law. Mortality has a way of hitting you in the face at the most unexpected times…but then it never comes at  good times, does it?

I have spent this last year pretty well confined due to my physical limitations. Where did they come from? and so fast? Last year I could sit on the floor and trim my dog’s hair…but that is no more. Last year I could walk the mall with only minor aches …but no more. Last year I could see out of both eyes in a fog, now I see much better but I am not in balance and loose my equalibrium…a steady stance is no more.

65 AND HOLDING…

I will become of senior citizen age next month and my plight will be the workings of medicare…that alone can kill ya. I am still in debt paying off old bills…and I have spent years being too hot and now I have cold feet all the time…and where did that come from?

When I was much younger I always thought I would like to grow old gracefully….enough of that crap, I have decided to stamp and scream all the way. I have spent my entire life trying to please the people around me…I have marched to other people’s drum and I am alittle uncomfortable with that…now. Really…what has it gotten me…?

MIRED IN STUFF!!

It seems a waste not to know your own potential, not to know discovery and the wonderment of surprise and knowledge. I get too mired into other people’s stuff…

As I look back in hindsight…would I do things differently? Yeap…I can think of a million things I would have liked to have done and accomplish.. Sometimes I think, perhaps, I have let the powers that be ..down… Didn’t quite grasp the vision; just didn’t go for that brass ring!

Somewhere I got waylaided…life’s achievements have been postponed so others can live their lives…my husband, my children and my grandchildren. How many Mothers lament this same song…?

Don’t get me wrong,, being a wife and going through Motherhood is major stuff. I, like most women, will pass on with that as my prime achievement. An achievement offered with love and sacrifice…

And I suppose that will become my epitaph…and all I can leave is that love to those who will accept it…it is yours!

Happy Holidays Everyone!!

Grandad and I were married while we were still in our teens..we beat the odds for divorce, true enough; but not without alot of ups and downs and boo-boos in between…This is no way an indorsement for child marriages. I firmly believe young people today should wait a reasonable time to explore education and life experiences before there is a commitment to another person for a lifetime adventure…together!

Commitment seems to be sorely lacking nowadays. Perhaps people feel the stakes are too high to make a great mistake…after all the great divorce rate lends credence to that fact. But, isn’t alot in life centered around taking  chances..? There is no doubt that Grandad and I jumped into the matrimonial pond too early but….

OUR FIRST CHRISTMAS…

Our first holiday spent together as man and wife was Christmas. We were miles away from home and Grandad was into his first semester of college and working as a doorman at the local movie house, earning 75 cents an hour!  We were new parents living in an old motel made over to apartments for the winter season…

Our first home, away from home, was to be a falling apart little house that was duplexed into 2 apartments with a “shared” bathroom. The other apartment was rented to a couple with several children and somehow we felt this arrangement just would not work for us…

So, into our 2 rooms motel apartment we settled to have our first Christmas with our new son. Since it was a motel room, it did not have a back door…Inside was a small cook top where we put together some very humble meals. The meals were usually home canned peaches (from his Mom) and chili or soup. When the holiday approached we decided to have a real Christmas dinner. We borrowed the motel owner portable oven and set up all the trimmings for the perfect, most delicious dinner for the 3 of us.

AWAY FROM HOME…

It was our first Christmas away from our families…we were still considered kids with a kid! We were determined to make it special for ourselves…and Christmas eve fast approached. We had no money so we resorted to buying the necessary stuff. Shoes, one shoe to each box; socks, one sock to each box! Bobbie pins, shave cream, chapstick and candy bars!

HO-HO-HO….

Grandad, determined to make this holiday special for me, decided to play Santa. But, to do so he had to pretend he was taking a shower and as the water flowed, he somehow wiggled out the bathroom window and scampered to the car to retrieve the treasures he purchased.

Unbenownst to him, I was peering out the window into the pitch dark evening sky and there before my eyes was my somewhat new husband outside in the opened field in only a teeshirt and pants as the beginning of snow was starting to fall. I could not believe my eyes…how dumb could he be!

Once back into the room I quizzed him concerning his whereabouts. He told me he had just finished his shower and that I knew he was in there and how else could he get to the outside….great deduction! There was surely no way “I” could get through that window!!

SANTA’S VISIT…

The next morning we woke up to Santa’s visit which was lovingly placed under our humble little tree. We spent all morning opening boxes with only one thing of a pair in them. Our toaster oven was filled with a small turkey that smelled wonderful…

Our little family, Mom, Dad, Baby and puppy had a glorious holiday together  alone…

Never to be forgotten ever!!

We recently had the opportunity to visit Disneyland for two days with our two daughters, a grandson and our 5 year old grandaughter. It was in celebration of a birthday for our caboose child who was raised with all things disney in her life…

SCOOTIN’ ABOUT…

It was a whirlwind of activity that can test the stamina of two old grandpoops. Grandad hadn’t been in the park for nearly 10 years and he was skeptical as we boarded the two scooters rented for us. But…he got the hang of it and we scooted about with the best of them. Not only was there masses of people but many were riding scooters as well. One afternoon we were returning to the hotel and a woman came up and asked me how we arranged for the scooters. She exclaimed she had spent 3 days in the park and was more than ready for a scooter too.

 Actually the scooter thing is a grand idea. they are small and compact enough to manuver most tight spaces and can be riden right up the the loading zone on most of the attractions. Most families zig zag from land to land so the foot mileage does mount up. The only downside is that the people around you are so caught up in the magic that they do not watch where they are going or stop dead in their own tracks so those who drive the scooters must constantly watch out for the human critters who seem to think scooters can do no harm!

We were able to ride our scooter right up the elevator and into our room. It was convenient and saved the body alot of aches and pains…

A HOLIDAY VISIT…

We had never been to Disneyland during the Christmas holidays. Needless to say, on a weekend, it was crowded. It was also cold…usually when we went it was hot and uncomfortable. It was weird hearing carols being sung in so many different ways!I felt it was nice to know that some things never seem to change…going to Disneyland no matter what time of year, is like making fantasy a reality. Sometimes that is a good thing….at least for a couple of days.

A TRAINING THING…

My favorite ride still is Big Thunder. I can never decide whether to scream or laugh so I do both! My knees cannot take some of the rides nowadays but I found myself, older and wiser, and people watched…which is great fun! I am amazed the lengths people go to for escapism… the costumes and hats, though rediculous somehow fit in just fine.

PEOPLE…. 

Whenever I go, I always witness the dynamics of families… the good and the bad! Seems like it runs the gambit at Disneyland. It gets to be nine at night and Moms and Dads are running about with strollers filled with sleeping kids still trying to catch one more ride or thrill. Of course, we now have multi-generational people raised with the Disney traditions.

The big  and newest adventure is the Nemo submarines. We just did not go there but our birthday girl took her daughter first thing Monday morning when the crowds no longer existed.

SPECIAL BIRTHDAY WISHES…

Grandad and I especially enjoyed eating at the Blue Bayou…good food is hard to fine inside the park. Celebrating a birthday in the park is always special. The birthday person gets a button to wear at City Hall and through out their stay employees go out of their way to recognize the special day. We planned a private party in our hotel room. Throughout the day, housekeeping sent a washclothe cake and balloons, a birthday cake was delivered and a basket of goodies awaited the birthday girl when she arrived.

There were parties everywhere….upon our entrance in the park there was a crowd of about 8 year olds all dressed as Princess Bell. We saw many young couples walking around wearing bride and groom Mickey ears. In downtown Disney there is a makeup boutique for little girls. As we walked by there were little girls being pampered to princess everything!!

NIGHT TIME MAGIC…

The park at night is magical, especially during the holidays. Sleeping Beauty’s Castle is adorned with cascading lights that look like snow. Main Street is festooned with garlands and wreaths that cross over the street and the plaza has a very tall Christmas tree ladened with the biggest ornaments ever.

But to be honest…the magic was nice but it was wonderful watching it through the eyes of a five year old.!! I would have to go back many years to capture that wonderment…Disneyland and kids and kids with puppies…now that’s a good time!

May it always be so…..Goofy messed with my hair and gave me a kiss and Mickey and Friends say HI!!