Thanks in the Giving, it's almost time to stuff it!

Best of beginnings to ya readers!  
BEFORE you run out to pay premium prices and purchase all the remaining TWINKIES on the shelves out there... or buy them on Ebay for thousands of dollars... STOP... wait, take a breath... they now say (whoever they are) that the Twinkies just may Survive! Of course this news is just in after many have already gone and bought all they can buy and emptied their 401K to invest in the tasty delights trying to cash in on the craze! Only in America! Don't ya just love it... and here I thought Twinkies were a thing of the past, yet now they are being sought after like the days of old like Cabbage Patch kids and hostess is making money hand over fist, like always... go figure!
WELCOME TO MONDAY!
  It's the week of Thanksgiving and oh the joys and choices and good food is beginning to be planned and thought about across the lands! Folks are getting ready to get their sneakers on, to get their travel on, and good smells will fill the air in places all over the place! If you are a sensory person you can probably already bring those smells to you; the turkey cooking, the pies and wonderful aromas filling your senses already in anticipation! Heaven help ya, if you go into a grocery store with that and hunger in your bellies though! Yes it is the week where folks will take the stores by storm as they hunt their turkey, and that special something for those they love... Oh and the memories that will be stirred up in the process of the preparing and the fixing, or in the thought of the day as some traditions are set in stone while so many others are so very different now. Some have fallen away with the many changes that life brings about, or fall outs in families or tragedy or death or the inability to all gather as they once did... yes the holidays sure do bring up more than turkeys to be stuffed and dressing on the side.  It is a time of memories, of reflections and yet a time of great gratitude for all that has ever been, all that once was and still is on so many levels.  It is a time for blessings and for the thanks in giving.  For many it is a time of painful loveliness as they find the memories are so very strong of what was and is no longer.  Some traditions have changed, some no longer include large gatherings at the kitchen table or families joined in prayer, or turkey being carved after the sound of laughter and gaiety filled the air long ago.  Now it's a restaurant or a steak on the grill and maybe a day of football in a home that is not so full of people but filled with those memories or a trip out of town and a secret hope that February will show up quickly and the glitter and tinsel will soon go away.
While for others? It is their favorite of holidays, a feast of joy and thankfulness and it is the official kick start of winter and ho ho ho and holidays of wonderment, with razz and jazz and holiday tunes that play non-stop until the 25th of December!
Yes this is the day that kicks off folks running and doing and being and putting things on their lists and calendars, it is a busy kinda time where stress is so often self-inflicted and sleep is hard to come by.  
 Are you ready for it all to begin and for the Turkey to be stuffed? Are you ready to fight and hunt down that perfect turkey or steak and all the things to make your holiday great?
It is M ONDAY... time to get your happy on and do this thing!

Really? Is it already Monday?

Coffee is hot, here we are, but Jeepers is already ready for a siesta!

Yesterday was fabulous...

And here we are, Monday morning with coffee, great memories, little ones running around the pool and I am wondering...

HOW ARE YOU???

We sure did make some great memories yesterday! One would have thought it was a car wash around here as we lined the 4 leggeds up for their baths... Oh the joys to be had when you have all dirty at the same time...

The best news is each weighs in at 4 pounds so we could have put them all in the dishwasher I'm thinking and made it easier!

Clean clean babies they are now!

The suds were flying.

Yep, and just so you know...

we didn't drown not one in the process!

Stories are wonderful, memories food for the soul and this week will be flooded with stories and memories that each will want to share, to laugh and cry about; if you but walk past your comfort zone and listen then speak yours!

 Elders and children often have wonderful stories, memories of things way before we even existed. The are fascinating to me. To listen to others share their memories is indeed a gift received.

The stories we can share, each with our own spin are more than entertaining; they are gifts to open and to relive again and again. With little ones we have to set the stage to receive them though; often triggering them in just the right ways to get them to open up to us ... be creative!

Aren't memories wonderful?

Some of us may have the dubious pleasure of hearing the same stories repeated a thousand times over the course of our lifetimes. My endurance of the stories has been enhanced by asking for more and different details.

What did it smell like? What time of year was it. How did you first meet that person? You’d be amazed at how many more details come out. Often making the same old story you could repeat verbatim, seem fresh and somehow more interesting.

 So, I encourage you once again to share your memories with family and friends, ask them to share theirs with you. Compare your funniest, or most amazing. Treasure the sharing. Capture the stories, and hear the life lessons they hold. Let others help fill in the missing blanks in your memory bank, and do the same when you can. Share the feelings the memory evokes, it can open up a whole new conversation.

Memories In the Corners of my Mind this morning, with my coffee fresh and the four-leggeds having the time of their lives...

Memories are amazing mental photos of experiences gone by. I often take a “walk through my mind” and reflect on the special memories I hold dear to my heart. Oh how I remember the story of Olivia having to sit on the step for "time out" and saying... "Mom, the next sound you will hear is me hitting my head against the wall..."  and only seconds later the "thump thump" only to be broken in silence by her then saying... "AND MOM, IT REALLY HURTS" !~!!  now you gotta admit... that is funny... That's Nana's girl all right... telling it like it is... No holds barred!~

These little treasures recall so many special moments. People I have shared this life journey with, experiences joyous, sad, precious, and troubling.
Funny how time wears away at some of the specifics, things we thought we would never forget become crystallized, or somehow fuzzy, with bits missing or faded. I suppose there is a finite amount of data the ole brain can store and retrieve. Some things got to go to make way for the new stuff. Old memories hang on, fuzzy though they may be in my mind, my heart easily recalls the feelings attached to the memory.


I like that I can remember the feelings, even if the details allude me. When my memory fails to sharpen the details, my heart jumps up and fills in the blanks with instant recall of the sensations I experienced.

We rely on friends and family to join in the recall. Ever sit around and “remember the time?” We do this often. One focuses on the people present, another may add historical details to round out the picture. Someone may be especially good at recalling the conversations, Who said what. We remember the laughter, the tears, the pranks, our fears. And with each memory, we embellish a bit to enrich the story. Sometimes, I remember with every vivid detail right there. Perfect recall.
 Sometimes I can’t even scratch up a vague connection to someone else’s memory shared. We were all there, all had the same experience, and each and everyone of us saw it differently, or remembered it differently.


There are unbelievable moments when reminiscing, that it is not possible to imagine someone can’t remember in great detail the same unforgettable moment we shared. That my friend is why we need each other as memory keepers.

When I encourage others to tell and retell their stories, in part it is to help set these moments in our memories to bring back the joy, or release the pain associated with the memory.


It's never too late to bury those hatchets ... and of course they will find their way back to the surface when you least expect them to and need to be buried all over again probably... but at least you can say you in all good intentions made an effort! If not for you then for the greater good of those before you, after all "they ARE watching" and still have hope for you to all get along without them in front of you at the table or in your face and they did teach you right way relations... right?

 

The fire is burning on this Monday morning its embers are hot... with thoughts on the wind to those who know who they are of healing ways, loving thoughts along the journey...
Blessings to you and those who gather here...
Dance into your week...
STOMP
S    T     O     M     P

Walk In Beauty,
DRSES