What Christmas Feels Like

(Please enjoy this post from last December so Flower Bear can go out and finish her Christmas shopping)

For anyone who has been following this blog from the beginning, you already know the story of my pilgrimage to find a simpler life and where that led me. For anyone new to the blog, let me just encapsulate the story: City-born girl longs for life in a small town. When the kids are all grown and gone, and hubby has flown the coop, city girl packs up her car and heads north to a small country town that made all of her dreams come true. It was like living in a Hallmark movie, with county fairs, and hometown parades and, most of all, a country Christmas that would have made Normal Rockwell jealous. It was almost perfect and she was so very happy.

Fast forward 25 years and city girl turned country girl had to move to a medium sized town on the edge of a small city because jobs in her little town got to be few and far between and she had to support herself. After she retired, she tried moving back to the small town of her dreams but this time it just didn't feel the same. Everything felt and looked different and, worst of all, Christmas was no longer beautiful and perfect. In fact, it was downright depressing, especially since the rest of her family were living an hour south of her. So when a small studio apartment with a killer view came up for rent in that slightly larger town, in the suburb of that smaller city, she moved closer to family and friends, and has spent the last three years trying to figure out what went wrong when she had tried moving back to the town of her dreams. So this is what she (meaning "I") came up with.

Christmas, like life itself, isn't where you live, or how you live, it's who you are wherever you live. Sure, it's a tree, and cookies, and carols, and Santa, but it's much more than that. It's the choices you make that turns your life, and your holidays, into the gifts of love, charity, and kindness that follow you wherever you live and that define you inner as well as our outer life. Maybe, after growing up amidst the bright lights of New York City at  Christmas - magical to say the least - and all the hustle and bustle that went with it, and then experiencing a hometown Christmas of carols in the square, the town Christmas tree, and the annual church Christmas bazaars, I was trying too hard to make it an either/or kind of life when at it's best it was a blending of them both. 

Life, especially at Christmas, and especially after the year we've all had, should be about all the things that feel like Christmas - the love, the care, the compassion, the giving without expecting something in return, and the knowledge that everything else is just tinsel on the tree. May your Christmas, and your life, be trimmed with all the things that make life a blessing no matter where you live.

And so it is. 

This Too Shall Pass

There are weather alerts out this morning in advance of a rain and high wind storm that will be hitting our area later on today. Wind gusts of 50+mph are possible which means the rain will be waving blankets of water, power lines and trees could come down, and Christmas decorations will be flying around like Santa in his sleigh.

I've spent the morning so far filling up anything that can hold water, digging out batteries, flashlights, candles, and battery-operated radios. My phone is charged. Like the Girl Scout I was so many years ago, I am always prepared. Experience tells me I can do this.

The Native Americans have a saying, "No storm lasts forever." Yes, the coming storm may turn nasty and we may have several dark and cold hours to get through, but tomorrow morning, like every other morning, the sun will rise again. The same is true in our lives: no storm lasts forever. Whether you believe it or not, your are adequate for any and all situations. How do I know this? Because you're still here. If that isn't proof enough, what is? 

So in the days, weeks, and months ahead, remind yourself that you have come this far, and you will be able to continue moving forward. Use your experience and strength to guide you, fill your hearts with love and hope the way I am filling containers with water, and keep your light shinning to light the way - no batteries required!

And so it is. 

Oh Evergreen, Oh Evergreen!

I know, the song isn't "Oh, Evergreen," it's "Oh, Christmas Tree." To me they are one and the same. While the dear evergreen trees have been patiently taking a back seat to the glories of autumn and the trees that paint the landscape with brilliant color, the wait is over. We've had several small snow days that have taken care of the last of the autumn leaves, and what remains to bring us joy from the natural world is the ever patient evergreen tree. This is when it finally comes into its own.

There are many, many stories we can look up that tell us the origins of using evergreen trees at Christmas, from the traditional Yule Log and branch, to a fully decked out tree. My own memories are of those cold, snowy nights when I sat looking out of the window to catch sight of my Dad's car pulling up to the curb with the Christmas tree tied to the roof (he drove a huge, 1960's era cream-white second-hand Cadillac that he restored so you can imagine what kind of a sight that must have looked like). My heart would jump with joy as I ran to the front door to catch my first glimpse, and smell, of that magnificent gift from nature. Naturally, my Mom had already been forewarned that the tree was coming, so she had the chairs pushed back and the tree stand on the floor ready to receive the prize. Once he got it into the house, we would help my Mom hold it up until he got his hat and coat off, then steady it as he crawled underneath to secure the tree in the stand. Then we would all just step back and look at it with wonder. 

It was hard to get through dinner knowing that the tree trimming would start as soon as we were done. Since I came from a family that did not accept any excuses for leaving food on your plate with the exceptions of severe illness, you can bet we finished as quickly as we could so we could help my Dad haul the decorations from the basement and get the party started. It might not have been a party to the adults, but to me it was as if we were thanking the tree for giving up it's happy place out in the forest just to bring us some joy at Christmas. So, in a sense, decorating it was like dressing it up like a princess to show off its beauty and acknowledge it's sacrifice.

Sadly, we had to give up real trees because my older sister had allergies, and when I got married, my husband had them, too. Then my youngest daughter developed them, and it wasn't until years later when I became an empty nest-er and moved to upstate New York and had my own place that I had my first real tree in decades. I can't tell you the joy it brought me to see my little Charlie Brown tree sitting in my small apartment by the window covered in a few old family ornaments as well as some new, handmade ones. With the background of the trees and the river behind it through the windows, it was as if it were still in the woods showing off its Christmas dress. I eventually had to go back to artificial trees when my daughter moved up here with me, but I was blessed to find one that not only looked like the real thing, but had snow on its branches, and burlap around the bottom as if it had just come from the forest. It is surely the best of both worlds.

I only recently found out that evergreen trees can be found on every continent except Antarctica. Do you suppose Mother Nature was trying to tell us something?

And so it is. 

A Simple "Thank You."

 

Just a quick and heartfelt thank you to dear Mother Nature for all of the bounty she provides in our lives, all of the lessons that are out there for us to learn from her if we just slow down long enough to listen, and for reminding us that, no matter how dark the days and seemingly endless nights may be, each and every day the sun does come up, and we are gifted with the chance to try again.

To all of you who have followed dear Flower Bear from the beginning, as well as my new friends and followers, I wish you a  Thanksgiving filled with joy, love, abundance, and blessings.

And so it is. 

A Sad Goodbye

We had quite the rain-mixed-with-snow storm the other night. The wind howled and rattled the windows, and the rain lashed against the building, dumping what felt like an unreal and endless amount of rain on the roof. My poor senior cat did her best to hide under the bed (she's a bit chunky so her butt sticks out but as long as her head is covered, she's good), while I actually had moments when I pulled the covers up over my own dhead and politely asked Mother Nature if she could knock it off, "please and thank you." I don't remember exactly what time I finally fell back to sleep, but the next thing I knew, my fur baby had gotten back up on the bed and was telling me in no uncertain terms that light was dawning, the morning commute was racing past the window, and it was definitely time to get up and open a can ... as always she was quite literally starving to hear her tell it.

I threw back the curtains and was met with a sad sight, one that I had hoped I wouldn't see for at least a few more weeks. My beautiful autumn trees were bare. Most of the reds, golds, oranges, and muted browns were in piles at the base of the trees, while others were plastered on roofs, windows, and cars. Seeing the bare branches against a still leaden grey sky was much like being at a funeral. Luckily there was still some color to be seen on the distant hills, perhaps protected from the worst of it by the towering pine trees that surround them, but all up and down the block, and in everyone's yard, the leaves had given up the fight an were gone.

At that moment, my first thought was sadness for the trees themselves. I knew that scientists have proven that trees talked to each other (and to us if we know how to listen), so I wondered if they were lamenting the loss of their beautiful leaves, or complaining about the weather and the coming winter, but as I looked at the silent beauty of their bare sculptures, I somehow knew that they were so much better at this sadness and loss stuff than we humans are. 

Humans have turned complaining into an art form, especially around the subjects of aging and change. The hair turns grey (or starts falling out), the waistline goes, we don't think we can take one more winter up here and wonder why in heaven we haven't relocated to Arizona yet? Trees just stand there and accept it. Sure, their beauty might be gone in human terms, but those leaves had a job to do: to turn into mulch and feed the trees for their long winter sleep so they can return healthy and green in the spring. Then they will provide homes for the birds and squirrels, havens for insects, and shade for the humans who will then be complaining about how hot it is here when just a few months before they were complaining about the cold. Yet the trees continue to stand there, doing what they are here to do, probably laughing at the silly humans because if we would just stop complaining and listen, we'd learn that there is something to love and to learn in every season of the year, and in every season of our lives. You just have to stop long enough to see it ... and listen to your hearts.

And so it is. 

Seeing The Forest For The Trees

"Can't see the forest for the trees."

John Heywood

Today's blog post is going to be short and sweet. Of all the tragedies that have befallen our dear planet earth and our beautiful Mother Nature, none have been worse this past year than the devastation that hit our trees and forests. Millions of acres of trees were wiped out in a matter of hours due to fires, and it's not over yet. 

I don't have to tell you about the importance, nay, the necessity, of trees on our planet. We have all heard about how they clean the air, provide food and shelter for wildlife, build our homes, heat those homes, conserve water and preserve our soil. One way we can all do something about the problem is simple: plant a tree. I don't necessarily mean that you have to personally plant a tree, although if you have a yard or some other property that can support a new tree, that would be your chance to put your personal print on the problem. If not, there are many organizations that you can donate to which plant trees all over the country. The Natural Arbor Day Foundation is probably the biggest and most well-known group that is doing just that, but here is a list of the top nine best charities that are planting trees from the website: Impactful Ninja:

1. One Tree Planted

2. Trees for the Future

3. Trees, Water & People

4. International Tree Foundation

5. Woodland Trust

6. Trees for Life

7. Tree Aid

8. Trees for Cities

9. International Animal Rescue

I hope you will give serious thought to either planting a tree yourself, or contributing to one of the organizations that do. If we all do our job, our grandchildren will, indeed, have trouble seeing the forest for the trees.

And so it is. 

An Ode To Pumpkins

I'd like to take this opportunity to say a great big "thank you" to the most famous and beloved vegetable of them all ... the pumpkin. Sure, it's the day after Halloween and all over the world millions of pumpkins have had their day and are now sitting outside somewhere wasting away, or perhaps somewhere inside all saggy and squishy after spending last night lit up, decorating someone's table. Today, all thoughts of pumpkin will be swept aside until Thanksgiving when the idea of pumpkin pie once again puts this beloved orange sphere in the spotlight. 

Oh, sure, when it comes to fruit, you've got our good old apples (you know, the whole "Johnny Appleseed/Mom's Apple Pie" thing), but pumpkins have evolved from just being a Halloween and holiday pie thing. An entire industry has risen around this tasty and, dare I say, healthy plant. There's pumpkin pies, for sure, but also pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin latte, pumpkin spice tea ... there is even such a think as pumpkin pasta, if you can believe it (believe it, I have the recipe and it is yummy). 

Just in case you thought it was all about taste, allow me to share with you what Web MD had to say about the almighty pumpkin:

"In addition to beta carotene, pumpkins offer vitamin C, vitamin E, Iron, and folate - all of which help strengthen the immune system. More pumpkin in your diet can help immune cells work better to ward off germs and speed healing when you get a wound."

Pretty impressive, if you ask me. So here's to the almighty, healthy, tasty, and all-around good sport, the pumpkin. Long may you grace out tables, our holidays, and our hearts.

And so it is.