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Another blog. This one has sparkles.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Thankful

I don't remember how old I was, or when it was exactly, but one Thanksgiving eve my dad told me I should watch the Laurel & Hardy classic March of the Wooden Soldiers (aka "Babes in Toyland") that was showing on a local channel that night. I remember liking it, but looking back I guess it was a little freaky. I mean, look at these pictures - especially the cat. Yikes.
Freaky pigs, cat, Barnaby, and the monkey in a mouse costume (ok, I actually think the mouse is adorable)

(And since we're on the subject, it was only a few years ago that I realized that the Mickey Mouse character was played by a monkey. All I can say is, I want one.)
Best monkey actor ever
It's not like the movie became a Thanksgiving eve tradition at our house. Even though we recorded it, I don't think I ever watched it again. The reason it sticks with me so much is because I remember how I felt when I watched it: excitement, anticipation, contentment, security. The holiday season was here - which meant time with family, traditions, new memories, and of course, good food.

Which brings me to what I'm thankful for the most this Thanksgiving. Believe me, my gratitude journal is already filled with an abundance of blessings, but I am also very, very grateful for memories.

James M. Barrie wrote, "God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December." As I get older, and all of my family gets more spread out, I become more grateful for the gift of memory that still brings them close to me despite the miles and miles between us. So many amazing holiday memories - my brother, my cousins and me making a tape of us singing Christmas songs; me dropping pumpkin pie down my back (in my defense, I was trying to keep it away from my brother); my grandfather bringing chestnuts to roast; my aunt's macaroni pie; watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and the National Dog Show (with the entertaining commentary by my family). So many memories - some of them so inconsequential. But so dear to my heart.

Maybe it's because it's the holidays and I'm feeling more generous than usual, but I'm also grateful for the less-than-warm-and-fuzzy recollections that I have - the disappointments, heartbreaks, times of trial and loss, loneliness, uncertainty. I don't think I'm yet the person that says, "I'm so grateful for my trials" (because, let's face it, they suck). But as I look at my life and my past, I am grateful for every single minute. Because as excruciating as some of those moments have been and are, they are proof that I'm living my life - that I'm alive. And what a wonderful life it is.

Happy Thanksgiving, world.




Sunday, November 4, 2012

Bless Us All

I love the Holiday season, especially Christmas. I always have. Although I'm 30 years old, my dad still loves to tell stories about the 5-year-old (and younger) me that used to be up ALL NIGHT LONG on Christmas Eve, waiting for Christmas morning with all of the excited of a bumblebee on multiple amphetamines. As I got older, I would begin my holiday planning and shopping before most of my other family members - I don't remember when exactly I first uttered the phrase "It's never too early," in regards to getting in the holiday spirit, but I definitely wasn't even a teenager yet. And this excitement for the holiday season hasn't waned with the years.

***Yet-another-one-of-Adele's-Disclaimers: When I say "It's never too early," I am not saying put your Christmas tree up in September. Or play Christmas carols in August (although I have had to bust out *NSYNC's "O Holy Night" in July before. But that's because IT'S JUST THAT GOOD). I just find it works for me to start considering people's Christmas presents in the the fall, or to start listening to Christmas music and watching Holiday movies when Halloween's over (because, really, there are so many great Christmas songs and films, I don't have the time to fully appreciate them in the short span of Black Friday-Christmas Day). 

So while some people might have had a problem starting to Celebrate the Season in October, well, although I had to make sure I got in plenty of viewing time of "Garfield's Halloween Adventure," "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown," "Double Double Toil and Trouble," and "Hocus Pocus," I was really OK with it. And it may only be the beginning of November, but I am not ashamed to admit that I've already broken the seal and watched Christmas movies. 

This afternoon, I put on a Christmas classic - The Muppet Christmas Carol, and one of the songs stood out to me especially (maybe because it's the Sabbath, and I've been trying to think on the Savior today in general). "Bless Us All" was one of those numbers I used to fast-forward through when I was younger (I regret to say), but I think that's because I didn't take the time to listen to the words.....

Life is full of sweet surprises
Every day's a gift
The sun comes up and i can feel it lift my spirit
Fills me up with laughter, fills me up with song
I look into the eyes of love and know that i belong

Bless us all, who gather here
The loving family i hold dear
No place on earth, compares with home
And every path will bring me back from where i rome
Bless us all, that as we live
We always comfort and forgive
We have so much, that we can share
With those in need we see around us everywhere

Let us always love each other 
Lead us to the light
Let us hear the voice of reason, singing in the night
Let us run from anger and catch us when we fall
Teach us in our dreams and please, yes please
Bless us one and all 

Bless us all with playful years 
With noisy games and joyful tears
We reach for you and we stand tall 
And in our prayers and dreams
We ask you bless us all

We reach for you and we stand tall 
And in our prayers and dreams we ask you 
Bless us all


(Oh, Paul Williams, you are a poet....)

In describing this song, someone once said, "It's like a prayer." That it is. And one of the parts that affects me the most is the line, "We reach for you, and we stand tall. And in our prayers and dreams we ask you, bless us all." How true. When we reach for Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ - whether in our thoughts, in our prayers, in our kindness towards others - we cannot help but stand taller. They lift us above our own imperfections, anxieties, shortcomings, fears, and limitations, to a life that's filled with light, joy, hope, and love - a truly abundant life. 

That's one of the things I love about the Christmas season - this beautiful little reminder.