The Cultivation of Christmas Trees

There are several attitudes towards Christmas,

Some of which we may disregard:
The social, the torpid, the patently commercial,
The rowdy (the pubs being open till midnight),
And the childish — which is not that of the child
For whom the candle is a star, and the gilded angel
Spreading its wings at the summit of the tree
Is not only a decoration, but an angel.

The child wonders at the Christmas Tree:
Let him continue in the spirit of wonder
At the Feast as an event not accepted as a pretext;
So that the glittering rapture, the amazement
Of the first-remembered Christmas Tree,
So that the surprises, delight in new possessions
(Each one with its peculiar and exciting smell),
The expectation of the goose or turkey
And the expected awe on its appearance,

So that the reverence and the gaiety
May not be forgotten in later experience,
In the bored habituation, the fatigue, the tedium,
The awareness of death, the consciousness of failure,
Or in the piety of the convert
Which may be tainted with a self-conceit
Displeasing to God and disrespectful to children
(And here I remember also with gratitude
St. Lucy, her carol, and her crown of fire):

So that before the end, the eightieth Christmas
(By “eightieth” meaning whichever is last)
The accumulated memories of annual emotion
May be concentrated into a great joy
Which shall be also a great fear, as on the occasion
When fear came upon every soul:
Because the beginning shall remind us of the end
And the first coming of the second coming.

T.S. Eliot

1888 - 1965

Sisters

sisters are special, strange, and specific 

which I wrote in greeting card to Karen Stovall when her sister Harriet died in August 2022

special = better, greater, or otherwise different from what is usual

strange = unusual or surprising in a way that is unsettling or hard to understand

specific = belonging or relating uniquely to a particular subject

Photo taken Summer 2017 at our annual family reunion

Here's a favorite quote from the Downton Abbey television series in which Lady Edith explains to her older sister Lady Mary why she continues to engage.  

“Because in the end, you’re my sister. And one day only we will remember Sybil...Until at last our shared memories will mean more than our mutual dislike.”

Oh, and one more quote from Julian Fellowes in his book _Past Imperfect_

"One of the strangest parts of growing older (is) that ever-increasing Team of the Dead, who stand behind your shoulder and take it in turns to jump in and out of your head. A picture, a shop, a street, a clock that someone gave you, an ornament that came from this dead aunt or a chair from that dead uncle, and suddenly for a second they're alive again, whispering in your ear. There is a religion somewhere in the world that believes we all die twice; once in the normal way and the second time when the last person who really knew us dies, so one's living memory is gone from the earth." 

 Second photo taken March 23, 2019

TULIPS FOR PARKINSONS

T = TIME (not technology) - being present, holding hands, looking into eyes

U  = UNDERSTANDING - try to avoid misunderstanding by giving benefit of the doubt

L  = LIVE QUALITY (lifestyle choice) - support choice of caregiver & where to live

I  =  INCREASED AWARENESS - learn more about the disease process

P  = PILLS ON TIME - structure/schedule/routine provides security

S  = SUPPORT - (encouragement) - wait patiently while s/he does it on her own

Karen Painter, another Parkinson’s patient, designed the logo used today, with a red tulip and 2 leaves in the shape of “P” and “D”. Since 2010, Karen’s red tulip has been universally used as the logo or symbol for Parkinson’s.

FOR A TIME OF SORROW*

My father died one year ago today and I thought I share some words* that have comforted me.

 Sorrow is one of the things that are lent, not given. 

A thing that is lent may be taken away;

a thing that is given is not taken away.

Joy is given.

Sorrow is lent.

We are not our own, we are bought with a price (1 Cor 6:19-20),

"and our sorrow is not our own" 

(Samuel Rutherford said this a long time ago),

it is lent to us for just a little while

that we may use it for eternal purposes.

Then it will be taken away

and everlasting joy will be our Father's gift to us,

and the Lord God will wipe away all tears from off all faces (Is 25:8)

So, let us use this "lent" thing to draw us 

nearer to the heart of Him who was once a Man of Sorrows,

(He is not that now, but He does not forget the feeling of sorrow).

Let us use it to make us more tender with others, 

as He was when on earth, and is still,

for He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. (Heb 4:15)

*excerpt from Edges of His Ways by Amy Carmichael's

Photo Credit Sheffield Leithart

2022 WORD OF THE YEAR

 BEDEW

B = believe

E = enter

D = do

E = escape

W = water