FOMO

Psychiatrists have coined a new type of Phobia. They call it FOMO. Apparently many Americans are experiencing it. Notice, I am not saying that many of us "have" it, because I'm not sure the disease truly exists.
FOMO, the acronym, actually means, Fear Of Missing Out. Doctors say that many Americans have a need to constantly check their Facebook or other Social Media pages, because they fear that they will miss out on something important. Holy Toledo, I thought I looked at my Facebook Page because I was interested in what my "Friends" were doing. I wasn't aware of any fear that I had.
Realistically, we all get "left out" of a lot of things in life. In my 68 years of life, I'm sure I wasn't invited to every one's birthday parties in grade school and, guess what, I didn't get invited to Prom when I was a Sophomore in High School. Most recently, I was left out of a party at work.
Big deal. Life is full of events, and we all don't get invited to all of them. Tear yourself away from that Facebook Page. Live life and quit worrying about what you are missing on that screen.
So, the lesson here is..... and I am quoting my five year old granddaughter, a mega-"Frozen" fan....."Let It Go!"

Dear God: We are so blessed, but many of us fail to open our eyes and see what you have given us.
Life is such a gift. The world is such a wonderful place. We thank you.

"On Broadway"

My new screen saver at work is a black and white photo, circa 1965, of the main street in my home town. It's a winter scene. Snow is on the pavement and sidewalks. Cars are parked diagonally on both sides of the street. And, it's Christmas Time, because across each and every intersection, along the whole length of the mile-long business district, are stars, garlands, shiny tinsel and hundreds of lights.
I love looking at this dated picture of the Christmas decorations in my small Midwestern town. It's been a highlight of the Holiday Season. Seeing that photo gives me all kinds of happy remembrances of Christmases all those years ago. Every time I sit down to my computer, I think of some long ago event that shaped my life today.
Those lights remind me of shopping trips to Kresses and Montgomery Ward, with my mom and much older sister. They remind me of my Girl Scout Troop singing Christmas Carols in the second floor window of Little's Department Store. They remind me on going to Midnight Mass. I think about all of the gifts I begged for and just had to have.
I'm reminded of all the different cars we had growing up, and riding in them, up and down that lighted main street.
For many years now, I have lived in a large metropolitan area that has a world famous display of Christmas Lights. People travel from all over the country and abroad to see the fabulous Plaza Lights. I agree that they are a truly spectacular sight.
However, I know that I would trade them, in an instant, for a view of the "not so famous" lights on Broadway, in Pittsburg, Kansas.

What's red and green all over?

We had a discussion at work today about the bright red blossoms that are used to decorate during the Christmas season. To be specific, it was a pronunciation discussion or perhaps a disagreement on the correct pronunciation of the name of the familiar plant.
Some folks say "Poin-set-TI-a" and others say "Poin-SET-ta". Actually, according to Wikipedia, either pronunciation is correct. And, everyone knows that the Internet is all-knowing and all-correct.
The Poinsettia Plant was named after Joel Poinsett, an American Ambassador to Mexico. He first introduced the plant to the USA in 1825. Don't let anyone tell you that he discovered the plant, it had been in Central America, forever. It's known as the Christmas Star down there.
Anyway, no matter what you call it, we all appreciate the colorful plant during the most joyous of all seasons.

Gracious and most bountiful Lord, you have gifted us with so many wonderful things. Thank you for the beauty of nature. Green Christmas trees and colorful Poinsettias enhance our celebration of your birth. When everything in the cold outside is bleak and barren, Christmas color makes us so thankful.
We are truly blessed.

"Just like the ones I used to know."

My favorite holiday movie is appropriately named "Holiday Inn". It stars Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. It's corny, sappy and above all, most certainly, politically incorrect, but it remains my all-time holiday movie favorite. Just watching it makes me feel all happy inside.
"Holiday Inn" spawned another Crosby Christmas Movie, "White Christmas". That is not one of my favorites.
Both movies feature the Irving Berlin/Crosby mega hit, "White Christmas". Seen side by side, both  movies have very similarly contrived and goofy plots. The two movies, made decades apart, have the same main theme......boy meets girl, the two fall in love and they live happily ever after. Of course, by the time the second movie was made, Crosby was a long way from being a boy. I actually think he might have been a grandfather, several times over, when he and the lovely Miss Rosemary Clooney sang their duets, in "White Christmas."
Crosby plays an entertainer in both musicals. Big stretch! But somehow, no matter how many times I see Bing, sitting at the spinet piano in the corny country Holiday Inn, I get all teary eyed and happy.
Guess we all dream of a "White Christmas".

Dear Lord: Sometimes our dreams never become reality. We have disappointments, but our faith sustains us. We know you will never fail to provide for us, that we should never, ever loose hope.
Your steadfast love endures forever. Everything will turn out bright.

Try it. You'll like it.

A co-worker asked me to name my favorite holiday food. My answer came so rapidly, that I didn't even skip a beat. At the top of my "all-time holiday treat list" is leftovers. For my daughter it's all about the sides and for my husband it's the dressing, but for me, it's the leftovers!
My all-time favorite treat of the holiday season is a sliced white-meat turkey sandwich on plain, fluffy white bread. I like the 2 slices of bread, lavishly buttered and spread with jellied cranberry sauce, right from the can. And, I must have a glass of cold milk to wash it down.  It's a long time favorite and I look forward to it all year long.
Lest this recipe seem mundane and horribly dull to all of you gourmands, I feel the urge to tell you that I can and do cook new recipes regularly. This year's Thanksgiving feast featured two new sides. We nixed the green bean casserole for a timely, yet elegant, corn souffle and instead of Waldorf Salad, we tried cheese-stuffed sweet piquant peppers. It was a delicious change up, everyone agreed.
And, because we just don't buy fluffy white bread any more, I had to substitute some kind of healthy bread with seeds and nuts (or actually, it might have contained saw-dust), for my leftover turkey sandwich.
No problem, I am adaptable.............I enjoyed every bite.

Sweet Jesus: You allow us to enjoy so many things in life. We are grateful for our many blessings. Sometimes it's the simple things that give us extreme pleasure. The simple things often make us realize that many of our blessings are truly astonishing. Great and small, we thank you.

Being Thankful

My favorite holiday of the year is Thanksgiving. As usual, we will celebrate with all of the traditional hoop-la. We have a big afternoon meal planned, and we've invited family and friends to help us celebrate.
Thanksgiving, in my opinion, is way better than Christmas. Thanksgiving is all about the fellowship and food. Christmas is about presents, decorations, travel plans and making sure everyone is remembered and happy. By the time we get all of the required present buying, wrapping and mailing finished, we are often too tired to enjoy the season.
We have grandchildren and children who live hundreds of miles away, and we like to send them real gifts instead of gift-cards and or money. Last year, I decided to use those "stuff all you can into one  box-for one price" mailing packages. It was going to save us a ton of money.
Not this year. Limiting the size of packaging, put more stress on me, the mailer, because I knew I could only select gifts that were a certain size and bulk, so that they would fit in the box.Whatever the cost, my new motto is "it's the gift that counts, not the mass." Size really does not matter.

Lord. I am very grateful for my many blessings. I don't know why I worry. I need to improve my "faith attitude." Help me to manage my stress. Show me how to focus on the present. Your steadfast love endures forever.

It might just be too late!

Last week, I elected to make a quick run to the local Fabric/Craft Store (they actually sell a lot of other items, but I was looking for yarn). My idea, and I thought it was a good one, was to make the trek during the telecast of the local NFL football game. My theory went along the path of " the store would be less crowded, because a lot of folks would be home watching the game".
I was so wrong. It seems most of the women in town were all thinking the same thing, because the store was packed. The store has one of those "take a number" machines at the fabric cutting table and when I wedged my way past the crowd, toward the yarn aisles, I heard the sales clerk call out number 436. I could see that number 555 was already taken and the holder of that number was, no doubt, waiting impatiently, in a nearby aisle, for service. Oh my goodness.
I hastily picked out my yarn and headed toward the check-out lines. As I waited for my turn, it dawned on me that my good intentions for making every one of my co-workers a hand-crocheted item for Christmas, this year, was probably only a pipe dream. Standing there among the countless women, all with the same or a similar purpose, I knew my goal was way beyond my Yuletide reach. I'll never get them all done.
So little time, so many dish cloths.

Sweet Jesus. My intentions are mostly good. I want to give all that I can, but sometimes I just bite off more than I can chew. Help me to face reality.  Please, watch over me and lead me down the right road. Show me how to give more and worry less. Give us all peace.