another day

I know we are all desperate for 2020 to be over. It's not an exaggeration to say this has been a year unlike most others, and we are glad to see the end of it. But the hard truth is that tomorrow is just another day, one that will bring thousands of illnesses, hundreds of deaths, and too many people struggling to work, to pay bills, to stay healthy in body, mind, and soul.

We have hope. We have faith. There truly is light ahead, if we can stay focused, stay empathetic, stay caring. But the odometer rolling into a new year isn't going to be a magic wand, bringing a Hollywood-style dissolve into a glorious new tomorrow, so it's important to go easy on yourself and not put that kind of pressure on you and on the flip of a calendar page.

Be safe, be smart, be kind to yourself and to others. May we have many more new years to come. ♥️

a treasured memory

One of my dearest memories, from a Christmas not too long before my mom died:

I was in Ohio, visiting Mom and Dad for the holidays. Christmas Eve, cocoa, popcorn, music, contentment. I mentioned the "NORAD tracks Santa" thing...they hadn't heard of it, so we rushed to the computer and hit up www.noradsanta.org to see where Santa was.

Mom saw the toll-free number and gave it a call, expecting an automated "Santa is now crossing the Sahara desert" or something. Nope. Live person.

"Merry Christmas!! This is <PersonName>, a <Rank> here at NORAD, helping Santa out this Christmas Eve."

Mom panicked and hung up. Dad and I were crying, we were laughing so hard.

"What?? I wasn't expecting an actual person!!"

Once we got ourselves under control, we called back, this time on speakerphone. The woman on the other end was awesome. "What's your name, little girl?" <heavy giggles from the three of us> "Where do you live?" "Ah, Trinway, Ohio...let me see...looks like Santa should be visiting your house around 2am, so be sure to be tucked up in bed and fast asleep before then, okay?"

She never broke character. "Santa is so busy that we volunteered to help him out and let people know where he was, that way he could concentrate on getting the presents to all the good girls and boys. It's an amazing honor."

After thanking her for the fun, we hung up and sat there giggling, talking, watching the website, and just enjoying being together.

It was one of my favorite and best Christmases.

my guiding principle

I can still hear my dad saying it: “Life is short, kiddo. You’ve got to enjoy it while you can.”