Family is Precious

When I was growing up, Leave It To Beaver and The Brady Bunch were two favorite TV shows about family, along with Little House on the Prairie and Happy Days.  I'm sure there are a few more that I enjoyed, but these stick out in my mind.  What brings these to mind is right now I'm hooked on bingeing 7th Heaven on Hulu lately.  I watch these episodes and it stirs up emotions!  

With seven kids in their family, there's always something going on.  And unlike the typical sitcom or drama-com, not every episode ends with a happy ending.  Things work out, just not always with everyone happy in the long run.   Which is why I probably like this show right now. 

I see the mix ups and scrapes that the kids get in, reminding me of what my own kids did from time to time.  What makes the difference is  ... well, I"m not quite sure what the difference is.  But what comes to mind is how a family interacts, how they all get along, even during the worst case scenarios that come up during a show.  

At my age, I think I'm missing that part of life.  When your kids grow up, they move on with their own lives and a part of your own seems missing, mostly because you spent so many years raising them.  And then you look around and realize that your space is your own, your messes are your own, and it's OK! 

If you're in the middle of raising your kids, treasure these moments, it passes much too soon!  Remember that even in the worst of circumstances, you still have each other and the love you share. 

Another New Year

Here we are about to move into another New Year.  I don't know about you, but I'm ready to leave 2020 behind!  It's been quite a year - so many changes, so many different rules being put in place to help prevent this pandemic from spreading.  Challenging circumstances can make or break us.  How we deal with those challenges is what helps grow our character, our self worth.  

Each of us deals with each circumstance in different ways.  I know I've had my share of challenges this past year.    A new roof, a new AC unit, my sister died, my dog Sadie died as well.  It's been a challenge to stay upbeat and positive - in fact, some days it's just a challenge to get out of bed and do what needs doing.  But each day, it's what happens, and I'm happy that once I'm up and moving into each day, it feels OK.  I've been hoping for more than that, hoping to feel a bit more happiness.  I know that creating it is my job, what *I* need to do in order to make it happen.  But where does that motivation come from?

I'm finding that using my creativity helps motivate me in the right direction.  Or maybe it's just a better direction.  I'm slowly getting back to doing what I love:  taking photos, working on my scrapbooks and posting family history photos on our family page.   On Christmas Day, I posted an old favorite Christmas photo from our growing up years every hour on the hour - a total of 15 photos.  Each one of them made me smile, and I'm hoping it brought smiles to other members of my family. 

So as we're looking forward to 2021, choose something to bring yourself some joy, choose something that moves you into a more positive direction.   We all have choices, make them good choices for this year.

Bright blessings!