PRESIDENTS' DAY 2021

 When my kids were growing up we had a party for EVERY holiday there was.  And that included the minor ones like Flag Day, Veteran's Day, and Presidents' Day, as well as other more notable holidays.  A whole Family Home Evening was dedicated to learning just why we celebrated that holiday with fun games to commemorate the day.  And, of course, treats that reflected the occasion.  I wanted my kids to know it wasn't just a three-day weekend we were celebrating so we could have a school recess and giant sales at the stores.

Well, my kids grew up and those fun times are fond memories of the past.  But the other day when we celebrated Presidents' Day (NO SEMINARY THAT DAY!) I reflected again on why  the holiday was designated in the first place.

According to an online source, "Presidents' Day is a significant holiday for a number of reasons, the bulk of which correlate directly to concepts of American unity and nationalism. The holiday shifted from being specifically about George Washington to celebrating all presidents, a decision made to create a broader recognition of all the leaders of our beloved United States of America."

So, I decided to read a little bit about some of those men elected to the highest office in the land.  

One very moving article was about a vision George Washington had about three significant events in our country's history.  Two of which had already happened with the Revolutionary War and our complete break with England.  The third was on the horizon. Though the vision did not specifically name the Civil War, that was the strife to which it alluded.

I read again Lincoln's famous "Gettysburg Address", just 273 words in a message that stands as an affirmation of this country's destiny. 

 "...  that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Immortal words that will forever stand the test of time.

And I read a simple statement by Ronald Regan which underscores the Christian ideals we pray for in a nation that has seen a lot of recent turmoil.  

"Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, leave the rest to God."

I feel great gratitude for the United  States.   I HAVE lived abroad, and though our residences in Europe were wonderful in so many ways, still there is something about America that is a testament to its divine origins and providence.

Thank you to those who served as our country's president--whether they were popular or not.  The office has to be daunting in so many ways.  I'm sure it takes a certain courage to face each day as the President of the United States.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Alexander and I

 Alexander* and I are two peas in a pod.  Some days are nothing but terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days.

Last Thursday was one of them.

I told Louis not to eat before I got home after practicing the organ following the class I teach.  (He had gone to Seminary with me that morning to play a video during the lesson.) I told him I was in the mood for a REAL breakfast, and I was going to fix an omlete, bacon,  muffins, and some cottage potatoes .  He like the idea of a good breakfast.  Me?  I could hardly wait to get home and start cooking!  Yum!

But....I haven't practiced cculinary skills for a long time (nuking something in the microwave doesn't qualify) and everything went wrong.  Well, almost.  The orange juice and milk were okay.

I got a terrific set of pans for my wedding 52 years ago.  They are heavy cast aluminum, but over the years the bottoms got warped from all the heat from the burners.  When that happened, Ross would take the pans out to the garage and hold a blow torch on them until he was able to pound out the bottoms for a flat cooking surface once again.  Voila!  Just like new.

Only, Ross has been gone for a long time, and Louis doesn't do that kind of thing. Instead he  constantly asked me to get rid of the set and buy a completely new set.  One year for Christmas he even gave me a complete Rachel Ray set.  But I know HOW to cook with the ones I have.That new set was too fancy.  Expensive.  And I told him that if we were cooking for eight people every day like I used to, it would be worth getting a new set.  But not now.  It is way too late in the game for the upgrade.  I returned the pans to get a gift I could really use.

After that and a few more pointed suggesstions that we get new pans, Louis got tired of my negative answers to his pleas. About three years ago he went out and bought two heavy--and I do mean HEAVY--cast iron skillets  because he saw a recipe online and decided to start cooking.  The pans were too large and too small for the kind of preparation we do for two people.  And too heavy for me to handle.  My aging body just cannot pick up that kind of weight any more.  Plus Louis' desire to cook lasted for only one or two meals.  Then nothing.

Louis got the same "cooking bug" again a few weeks ago.  This time, he went out and bought two frying pans--also odd sizes for our needs--but at least I could handle them.  

So, that morning when I got home the cooking adventure began.  I prepared the muffins first.  Easy, peasy and put them into the oven.  The omlete and potatoes could cook while the muffins were baking.  Howewver, I wasn't used to using these new pans, and I underestimated how fast and hot they prepared the food.

             The next thing I knew, the potatoes were scorched!  While trying to turn them over and eliminate the tainted ones, I began to smell an awful burning odor.  YUP!  The omlete--completely charred on the bottom and the top still a really runny egg mixture--was a disaster.  There was NO saving anything from that--though I did try to scrape char off the bottom and cook the rest of the eggs.  Didn't work out.  What a surprise, huh?

The bell dinged for the muffins but, because I wanted to eat them HOT, I just turned off the oven and left them in for a couple more minutes while I wrestled with the burnt food on the stove top. 

By this time I was screaming bloody murder stuff like, "No wonder I hate to cook!  The failure rate with me is too high, and I don't LIKE to cook anyway."  Louis heard the commotion and came into the kitchen offering to take over and prepare a completely new omlete for the two of us.  That made me even madder! I told him I wouldn't eat it, so not to cook anything for me, and I flounced out of the house.  But not before I took the muffins out of the oven.  By then they weren't burnt, but way too dry.  I didn't care  and took one with me.

Got into the car and backed out of the driveway....but there was no place to go.  No one to go visit.  No store where I needed to purchase anything. Nothing to do.  I had already practiced the organ that morning. Nothing.  I ended up sitting in the church parking lot and tried to read on my smart phone.  Couldn't even focus on that!  So, I just sat there until the huff was finally over and then I drove home.  

Louis had indeed fixed a new omlete and salvaged enough potatoes for his meal.  He had prepared the bacon, too.  Then he ate and cleaned up the dishes and the kitchen.  By the time I walked in, it looked like no major crisis had happened at all.

I don't remember what else I did that day.  Probably NOTHING that could have been considered great, since I was so over the top enraged about my cooking skills.  But you can be sure I more than likely thought the whole day was a pice of junk.  

Ah, yes!  Alexander and I could have been twins on that crazy morning.  Nothing worthwhile came my way the rest of that day, I'm sure.  My attitude killed it all.  

Some days are nothing but terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days.  That was one of them!

Welcome to my world, Alexander!

*Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day  is a children's book written by Judith Viorst and illustrated by Ray Cruz. It won several awards during the 70's and was a Reading Rainbow book.

MISTAKEN IDENTITY

OUT TO LUNCH...OR WHAT?

I have two friends both named  Cathy with a "C".

One Cathy was my next door neighbor at our Secrest Court house in Arvada, Colorado.  A woman who became like a sister to me, and with whom after more than four decades I still share a special bond.  In the last few years, in spite of living over an hour away from each other, we get together every few months for a long early lunch which always lasts well into the afternoon as we catch up with the news of family and the stuff life is made of.

Her three children are the same ages as my three oldest kids.  She is about six months older than I am.  And she went with me to the hospital and stayed with me throughout the remaining hours of labor--and then delivery when Brittany was born.  This is the woman who taught me HOW to be a neighbor.  She flew to Colorado from Philadelphia where she and her family were then living to be with my kids during the time I accompanied Ross back to Belin after Jeremy died.  

She is literally the salt of the earth, an outstanding Christian woman who is not afraid to step up and help out, in the neighborhood AND the community,even when it is messy and not convenient.  I cherish our friendship and the rare opportunity I have to be with someone who knew me and my family before everything changed in our lives.

My other Cathy is a friend whom I met at church when we moved to Johnstown 18 years ago.  Our assiciation has not been as in-depth as my other friend, but we have shared some good experiences in the course of our relationship at church and in the community.  However, we have never, ever met for anything social like a one-on-one lunch.

COVID has put a damper on those long lunches with Cathy C.  I missed them a lot.  So a few weeks ago I wrote a short email to her expressing my impatience to get back to the business of our friendship.  Unlike I usually do, this time I didn't mention anything about catching up with what was happening with her kids or anything personal.  In fact it was quite generic.  Just a mention that I got a gift card from Panera's and that I was excited to use it.  

Cathy C. usually comes before Cathy H. in my phone contacts.  But I had recently sent an email to Cathy H. about the music for our church services.  I am the organist, and she is the music director.  Must have blipped her addresss to the top of the list. Anyway, I didn't pay attention and clicked on the first Cathy without reading the last name.

A short while later I received a gracious e-note from Cathy H.  She wrote that lunch sounded really nice.  It had been a stressful week for her with the latest news of COVID aftermath.  "Love, you, Georgia.  Thanks for reaching out.  Sure miss socializing with friends."

Good thing I wasn't too specific. How embarrassing it would have been to have to admit I had sent that email to the "wrong" Cathy.  I had no idea that Cathy H. would enjoy my company at lunch.  I replied we would save a date just for that.

Well, I went to that looong lunch with Cathy C. the other day.  It was still the satisfying encounter it has always been.  So, I guess I'll get in touch with Cathy H. and see what her week looks like.  I might really enjoy having lunch with "Cathy" more often.

Lesson to me:  watch what I'm doing!  The computer saves a lot of time, but it looks like I might have gotten careless about checking before I clicked
--or my hand was shaky and I accidentally clicked on the second entry.  Either way, it's the same sad advice I give people all the time....

DON'T GET OLD!

GREETINGS

               HOW ARE YOU?                                                                                                                HOOWDY-DO?  

        HOW YA DOIN'? 

                                                HEY! WHAT'S UP?  

HOW'S IT GOIN'?                                                                                                                       HOW YA BEEN?  

There are a lot of ways to greet someone.  And the expected reply is something akin to FINE. GOOD. OKAY.  It's just a greeting, after all.  Not really meant to elicit a detailed account of how you really feel.

Some years ago we went to church with a man who, everytime I greeted him with something like, "How are you doing today, Chuck?", his invariable answer was "INCREDIBLE!"

One day I said to him, "Get out of town, Chuck!  You can't be INCREDIBLE every time!"  Then he told me this secret of being able to say that EVERY single time.   It was that he might be either incredibly good, or incredibly bad, or incredibly happy...or incredibly sad.  Nobody needed to know.  They just needed to know "INCREDIBLE", and that usually set the tone for their day, too.

Years later when I worked for United Airlines and was the greeter for the flight, I used that little secret. If someone said they were terrific or super or outstanding--or any number of superlatives--I would then say, "Wow! Then we're twins because I am incredible!"  That usually brought a chuckle, not only to the person I was talking to, but also to the people right behind that person.  On some occasions I actually shared the story of Chuck always being incredible.  It was a good anecdote and gave people pause about the aspects of a positive greeting.

My uncle's consistant answer to that "How are you question?" was always something like "fair to middling" or "60/40" in spite of living with chronic pain.  No one ever knew how bad some of those days really were. Even in the hospital where he battled cancer to the very end, it was always the same.

I recently read about another man who had suffered in great pain during a lingering illness that finally took his life, too.  Instead of reciting all the misery he was in, he continued with the same reply he had always used throughout his life in answer to the question of how he was doing.  "Many things are going well."

These have been good lessons for me who is a complainer and a murmurer. I've often said I can do ANY hard job if I can complain every step of the way.  But no one wants to hear that.  It's off-putting.  So I have determined that I can do better.  I have MUCH to be thankful for.  And MANY blessings.  However, in spite of some setbacks and some challenges at this particular time which are truthfully really pesky, I am determined to begin 2021 with a new and more positive attitude which reflects the goodness of God and the many, many tender mercies that come to me on a daily basis.

"How are you doing today, Georgia?"  

"Many things are going well!"

PEACE AND SERENITY IN ALL TIMES

 I love Nativity sets!  In fact I love them so much, I collect them.  And now, after years and years, I have upwards of 500 of them in various sizes from teeny tiny to 15-18 inches.  And that number includes the Nativity ornaments on the Christmas tree, too.   I continually marvel at the countless ways this miracle is depicted through some artist's or creator's eyes.  Any Nativity set, whether manufactured in bulk or hand made, testifies of Jesus Christ. 

I love Nativity sets so much, in fact, I keep a few on display all year long.  Just glancing at them as I move around the house gives me a sense of peace and calm* as I contemplate that "one wonderful night" so long ago when Jesus Christ was born.  They are wonderful reminders of the humble beginnings of our Savior and Redeemer who ministered with love and goodness--ALWAYS!  Perhaps you feel the same peace and calm when you see a Nativity displayed, whatever the setting.

    --The top photo is part of the entire Nativity Festival I staged in our home in 2017.

    --The bottom photo is a set that is depicted in a rather non traditional way.  I displayed it all year      long a few years ago.

*This post is in response to #LightTheWorld for December 3rd

A DEMONSTRATION OF CHRIST-LIKE LOVE

Maude Huggins in the late 40's.  

This picture is how I think of my mother.  

She always looked like this, just older as the years went by.

#Light the World 2020 for December 3rd was to think of someone who demonstrated Christ-like love and post it on social media to share my comments with others. 

 I chose my mother Maude Marie Crane Huggins. 

Even though my mother has now been deceased for over 35 years, her legacy still influences me on a daily basis. Not only was she an exemplary model of kindness and charity, my mother never spoke negatively about anyone else. In fact if any negative comment was made about someone, my mother never took the bait to gossip or say anything that would add to that. Instead she would always find something good to say about that person, which could be very irritating if I felt wronged by something that had been said or done to me. This was especially true when I wanted to complain about my husband. 

My mother also loved babies and little children in the true way that Christ succored the little ones. She often said how unthinkable it was to hurt or injure these innocent little people whom the Lord loved so much. Kids knew that and gravitated to her warmth and love--and not just family members either.

There is no way to tally the number of meals or desserts she took to those who were ill or had suffered the loss of a loved one. Anyone who came to our home was always offered something to eat and a place to sleep. Many a time I was invited to give up my bed to make sure a "guest" would be more comfortable. 

My mother's Christ-like charity was practically legend with those who knew her, and I was always proud of the way she ministered as Jesus did "lifting the hands that hang down and strengthening the feeble knees".

I'll never be anything close to the person my mother was, but thinking of the way she treated other people always makes me want to be a better person.

BUT I HAVE LEARNED THAT THE MORE YOU ACT THE PART, THE CLOSER YOU ARE TO BECOMING THAT PERSON.

A CELEBRATION WORTHY OF DIAMONDS

Three quarters of a century!  That's a long time no matter what angle you look at it.  And I've been telling everyone (as this milestone birthday of mine has approached) that I'll be "celebrating in diamonds".  That is until COVID 19 restrictions forced us to cancel the Nichols Family Thanksgiving and the ensuing celebration for my 75th birthday.  I had so much fun on my 70th birthday, which was planned as a surprise, I initiated this celebration at the beginning of the year myself.  I reminded the family I was planning to retire on my 20th United Airlines anniversary in August.  So, make plans, reservations, book tickets, ask for time off, whatever was needed for us to celebrate BIG during the Thanksgiving holiday.  

Well, maybe next year....

Then the good old internet beckoned and look what I found when I Googled "75 years".  There is an awful lot of other stuff, including celebrities who are the same age as I am.  Some I knew about.  Some I didn't. Doesn't matter.  It's all about ME today!  

I was feted with birthday greetings--and gifts-- from family, friends, and even some people that I hadn't anticipated wishing me well "and many more!"  Plus PIZZA for supper!  Life doesn't get much better than this...

HERE ARE SOME "75" INTERNET ENTRIES....

• The 75th birthday is called a semisesquicentennial because it is half of 150 which is a sesquicentennial.  Also this....
• 
  
• What is 75th birthday called?
• 75 years of life is a milestone birthday, often referred to as the platinum celebration. This is a birthday that family and friends celebrate with love, as well as traditional gifts.
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• What is the best gift for a 75 year old woman?
• Good gift for a 75 year old woman…. Gold Painted Lord Ganesh Wall Hanging.  Alluring and enticing, this art piece is a perfect way to lift the style quotient of your home interiors. With this divine gold painted lord Ganesha wall hanging you will feel blessed.
• Indeed!  I would feel more blessed if I looked at the last family portrait, though it is missing some recent additions.

It's evening now, and I am reminded once again that a birthday is just another day of the year!  And though it was far quieter than I had anticipated, it was still a good day!  My hair even looked decent, the true gauge of a good day in my book.

Before I know it, I will be looking at 76 smack on.  And then I will be celebrating....

Platinum Plus!