I have lived out east for about 25 years and I still can't get over the sensation of living on another planet. Case in point - May Day. In our younger days, we'd get little crepe paper nut cups with sweet little handles and fill them with mints and nuts and little treats. We'd run over to a friend's house, careful not to spill (okay, eat) the goodies on the way there. Hang the basket on their front door knob, ring the doorbell and run away. Squeals of delight when they found their basket. It was so innocent, so sweet. Then comes the skip in your breathing when you got home and saw one hanging on YOUR FRONT DOOR. I remember getting them and just being so happy. It was special, it was 4 mints and 6 peanuts of friendship and caring. What's not to love?
I'm sure by today's standards, kids would get an MP3 player or a Nintendo game in their May basket. ( Kids are really wrecked at a young age, in my opinion. Nothing is special anymore.) But here on Mars, no one has even heard of May baskets, much less did it in their youth. How messed up is THAT? Who gave birth to these people? I have these lovely grandmas who come in to Joe's store and complain about buying a card for their grandkids when, "All they care about is the money inside." I always want to lean over the counter and say, "Well, who started putting money in those cards, huh? Did you ever think of getting them a good book, taking them out for an ice cream, or teaching them how to make a cake, or just the two of you cooking up something special for lunch? An actual chance for a conversation? A little bonding? How about a movie? A trip to the science museum, or a zoo? If your answer is, "My kids would hate that," you have failed as a parent and a human being and I hope I never have to run in to you - or your kids.
Joe and I are the boring great-aunt and uncle, we buy savings bonds and tuck them inside age appropriate books. The kids aren't too thrilled, but the parents love us long time. I guess I don't feel the need to be an ATM to people I love, especially when they already have every doll/toy/dress/gadget on the planet. I'm up for the things they will look back on and say, "Gosh, that was so nice when.... I really miss being able to .....".
It's okay, I'm patient. I can wait. But if my books and that damn sewing machine screw do not show up soon, I'm going to go nuts - and not in the good May basket way.
Showing posts with label Grandma. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grandma. Show all posts
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Happy Valentines Day, Grandma!
I'm a little weary of the Valentines Day haters - those who whine and complain, say it is a holiday made up by card companies, that kind of thing. ( It is remarkable to me that the same people who hate on this holiday will go to the time, extent, trouble and yes - spend money - sending anti-Valentines Day sentiments. Whassup with that?)
Yesterday at work, a man took a Valentine card off the rack and said to his wife, "Here, this is a Valentine for you. Now I'm going to put it back on the rack!" He was serious. I shook my head and thought, "oh boy, aren't you a treasure...." Of course it isn't about if or how much you spend, or mandatory card & gift giving. You celebrate it because you want to, not because you have to. And before I hear one more time - "Oh, I show my love every day, I don't need a holiday to force me, " I say well, stupid, you are SUPPOSED to show it every day. Some days that is more of a challenge than other days, as anyone who has been in a relationship of any kind lasting longer than 15 minutes can tell you.
My Grandma Emma died on Valentines Day many years ago, and it was perfect. Let me explain - she was a very simple woman, who conceived and bore her children in the same bed, on a farm in Nebraska. I remember asking her what it was like to give birth at home and she said, "Well, I just did my best, that was all we could do back then." She adored her husband, my Grandpa John, and she loved her Lord. Grandma's mother died on a holiday - Easter - and she thought that was the most wonderful thing, that you could go to meet your Lord on Easter. That's when she told me she wanted to die on a holiday. My Grandpa John died years before she did, and she mourned and missed him profoundly. When she did pass, I thought it would ruin Valentines Day forever, until I remembered her wish to die on a holiday. What better day to be reunited with the great loves of her life - her husband and her Lord - than on Valentines Day?
Valentines Day is about love. Period. All kinds of love - family, friends, pets, lovers, caregivers - all should be celebrated and acknowledged in whatever manner you like. This acknowledgment of others will enrich your soul, and remind you to give yourself a "Valentine" of some sorts as well. Here is my favorite Valentine, one my mother did up in calligraphy and I have it hanging in (yes) my bathroom. I see it every morning and it reminds me every day to love myself in order to love others better.
Thomas à Kempis said, "Keep thyself in peace, and then thou wilt be able to bring others to peace. Have a zeal, therefore, in the first place over thyself."
Yesterday at work, a man took a Valentine card off the rack and said to his wife, "Here, this is a Valentine for you. Now I'm going to put it back on the rack!" He was serious. I shook my head and thought, "oh boy, aren't you a treasure...." Of course it isn't about if or how much you spend, or mandatory card & gift giving. You celebrate it because you want to, not because you have to. And before I hear one more time - "Oh, I show my love every day, I don't need a holiday to force me, " I say well, stupid, you are SUPPOSED to show it every day. Some days that is more of a challenge than other days, as anyone who has been in a relationship of any kind lasting longer than 15 minutes can tell you.
My Grandma Emma died on Valentines Day many years ago, and it was perfect. Let me explain - she was a very simple woman, who conceived and bore her children in the same bed, on a farm in Nebraska. I remember asking her what it was like to give birth at home and she said, "Well, I just did my best, that was all we could do back then." She adored her husband, my Grandpa John, and she loved her Lord. Grandma's mother died on a holiday - Easter - and she thought that was the most wonderful thing, that you could go to meet your Lord on Easter. That's when she told me she wanted to die on a holiday. My Grandpa John died years before she did, and she mourned and missed him profoundly. When she did pass, I thought it would ruin Valentines Day forever, until I remembered her wish to die on a holiday. What better day to be reunited with the great loves of her life - her husband and her Lord - than on Valentines Day?
Valentines Day is about love. Period. All kinds of love - family, friends, pets, lovers, caregivers - all should be celebrated and acknowledged in whatever manner you like. This acknowledgment of others will enrich your soul, and remind you to give yourself a "Valentine" of some sorts as well. Here is my favorite Valentine, one my mother did up in calligraphy and I have it hanging in (yes) my bathroom. I see it every morning and it reminds me every day to love myself in order to love others better.
Thomas à Kempis said, "Keep thyself in peace, and then thou wilt be able to bring others to peace. Have a zeal, therefore, in the first place over thyself."
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