365 Blessings

So- I had a thought. For the last few weeks I have been reading posts on Facebook about what people are thankful for.  I had asked one of my friends what the deal was and she noted that its a "thing" where people post what they are thankful for in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. I thought "cool!" what a neat idea...but why should we only be thankful for things in the days leading up to Thanksgiving? So I am starting something with my own spin on it. That "something" is  -

365 Blessings

It is its own page on Facebook where people can post their daily blessings.  It can be something as small as "I woke up" to as large as "my parent survived cancer."  I firmly believe we are blessed every day, but we may not see it.  By starting this page, I think it will be a way to remind people of the small blessings we receive every day (and even some of the bigger ones.) It is my "goal" to post a blessing every day. I put goal in quotes because its a goal -whether I accomplish it or not will remain to be seen -but its a goal none-the-less. I already have a few ideas lined up, some small and some a little bigger. If you are interested- I encourage you to read along and add in your own blessings.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

http://www.facebook.com/365Blessings?ref=hl

The Death of Fall

Ahh – fall. The brisk chill in the air embraces my kids as they meet the school bus in the morning. The leaves have turned their vibrant shades of red, orange, yellow and even brown to signify a time when summer is fading and our long, cold winter days are close at hand. Even in early November, fall feels more alive than ever. I suppose this blog post is long overdue considering we in MN have had some snow already. That being said, I still feel its still worth posting.

I often wonder, what happened to the fall holidays? I remember growing up and walking thru various retail stores seeing Halloween, Thanksgiving and general fall decorations out for weeks before Christmas took over. Now, depending on the store, they have two seasons; lawn and garden and Christmas (Thank you Menards!). Why are we so eager to bypass this seasonal transition stage? It’s almost like trying to skip past the teen years and head directly into adult hood; it seems like a good idea but how will we fare on the other end if we skip it? We lose out on the “incubation” period where we really learn things, make mistakes and get to have fun, right?

Remember the years when Mother Nature simply shortchanged us and we did not get a “fall” season? If your memory is like mine (and some days I wonder if I have a memory at all), you remember LONG winters and feelings of being shut in and stir crazy by late January. Maybe we need to enjoy the brown and drab of fall knowing it is only prolonging that first snow flake. I work with a gal that despises fall. To her, it is too depressing to see brown everywhere. I agree. Brown is just so yucky. However, no amount of “pretty white stuff” can outweigh dealing with blizzards, cold, ice, storm days and winter crud any longer that we have to.

The sad part about all if this, is that as a society we are bringing Christmas further and further forward. I read an article the other day that said 60% of respondents were going to start their holiday shopping in early October- OCTOBER! I am all for planning, but does that give retailers the right to ignore fall holidays all together?  Why should we as consumers have to subject ourselves and our families to this blatant disregard for transition. And why should we feel like we HAVE to participate in this extreme holiday bonanza?

All that being said, I have made a decision. This year I have decided to spend less time worrying about what I’m giving as a gift and more time giving my time to my family. November has two very important holidays in it that I plan to recognize in their own right. Veterans Day is a time to reflect on the freedoms we have thanks to those who choose to serve this country. My grandfathers, my great uncle, my uncle and husband are all veterans. I thank God every day for their dedication to our country and the time they spent away from their families to do their duty for this country. They are/were strong, courageous men who I look up to because I know they do what I could never do. Over the years I have met several young men and women (and one old, stubborn Norwegian) who for whatever reason, made the same choice to volunteer and defend this great nation of ours. They deserve our love, praise and respect. In my humble opinion, one day is not enough to honor these people, but it’s a start. The other holiday, Thanksgiving,  is a wonderful time to spend being thankful for the blessings we have in our life; our families, friends, freedoms (OK well anything that starts with an F apparently.) But why should we wait for Thanksgiving to be thankful? Why not do it every day?  

So if you are family, and you are reading this, will you get a present to open at Christmas? Sure. Will I agonize over getting you just the “right one”. Nope. I am spending my time helping to coach both kids in basketball, volunteering to help with Bailley’s choir, spending time being a mom, a wife, a friend and being thankful for the many freedoms and blessings in my life instead of shopping for the "perfect gift". If you don’t understand that…well, here’s your lump of coal.

The older I get the more I am like my....

No - not my mother. Although I'm sure there are some very striking resemblances.

I've decided that I'm becoming more like my Grandpa Hohncke. Let me explain.

Some of my best memories about Grandpa revolve around his constant quest for the flawless garden and the perfect hostas. His roses were to die for and he loved working with them. However, the hosta plants, were (from what I remember) the bain of his existence. He had zero patience when it came to the hostas. He would buy new plants, put them in the ground and if they were not performing to his expectations, they were transplanted. He was constantly splitting them and moving them around his back yard. It really was a never-ending process. When he died, his backyard looked like a hosta farm- they were everywhere and they were breathtaking.

I find myself doing the same thing – not with my garden vegetation, but with my fantasy football team. If someone is not performing as I expect them to they either sit the bench or get dropped. Typically once this decision is made, I get burned – that player ALWAYS scores points the week I do not start them. For you football fans out there let me provide some detail.  I picked up Shonn Greene from the Jets in my draft - he was supposed to be a sleeper pick; someone that no one else would think to pick up and someone that is supposed to have a good year.  Rrrriiiiiiigggghhhhhtttttt....Week 1 - awesome - 15 points.  However, the next 5 weeks - no more than 5 points on any given day.  What the heck?  So - like Grandpa, I lost patience and I benched him.  Over the course of those 5 weeks I picked up and dropped 3 different running backs - all of whom did not perform either.  Of course - week 6- is his break out week - 34 massive points, and he was on my bench. I've done the same thing with my wide receivers.  All that being said, I have decided on a new strategy.  Draft players and play them regardless of how they do.  No more dropping and adding to my lineup. I will treat it more like poker; play the cards I've been dealt and not go fishing for new ones. I may not win, but it will sure be a lot less stressful!

I figure this is a good philosophy for life - play the hand you are dealt. Why should people be so concerned with upgrading their cards when what they have will win the hand? Why should we as a society feel entitled to a better hand, when what we have is good enough to be healthy and happy?  Its a hard attitude change but one I think more people need to explore...including myself.