My Daddy was Irish, and he always used this occasion to tell just a few Irish stories like the story about the last snake out of Ireland – Do you know that one? Oh, good. I’ll tell it to you.
Beat That Holiday Stress
So The Phone Rings and Your Adult Kids aren’t going to get home for Christmas. They’re very Sorry But After All It Isn’t Going To Work For Them To Get there For Christmas. But you’ll be ok, won’t you, Mom?
What Do You Do? What Do You Say? Most of all, how do you get through it?
Beat That Holiday Stress
The holidays are getting closer. For some of us, there’s the realization that the inevitable holiday get together which can’t be avoided will necessarily involve folks we’re not too fond of. It is becoming clear that this is not going to be as much fun as the gatherings the greeting cards depict.
What to do?
Beat That Holiday Stress
For those of us who were used to being the Christmas Magician, the one who made Christmas happen for a lot of years, it can be a little hard to feel true joy. In fact, face it, it can be pretty hard not to feel downright unnecessary.
For instance, I just heard from my son who usually comes to help me set up the tree and put out the outdoor lights that he can’t do it this year. Naturally, I feel worse about the fact that we won’t have our special day together, than I do the fact that I can’t do the lights and tree myself. I don’t have all the answers, but I can tell you how I handle things like this.
Beat That Holiday Stress
Less than two weeks to Christmas. It could be time to start Christmas shopping. This is the time when we all of a sudden begin to know for sure that there’s no possible way to get everything done, especially with heavy traffic subtracting minutes and hours from the day. Here’s an idea or two for dealing with that holiday Stress:
Catch The Christmas Spirit: How to handle holiday Stress
“I think we’ve just about ruined Christmas,” said the man behind the counter. I tried not to take it personally as I pushed a huge stack of packages across the counter. “All this stuff that has nothing to do with Christmas at all. I’ve got no choice about what I do here,” he continued, “but at home I make sure that everything we do is the REAL Christmas.”
Catch the Christmas Spirit and Keep It All Year Long
If you’ve celebrated fifty or more Christmases, chances are that you may be finding it hard to connect with the true Christmas spirit this year. Face it, we’re not exactly the demographic the toy and computer manufacturers are going for. I mean, do you really want a Princess Elsa doll or a USB backup for you Mac Air? I thought not.
What we need, you and I, is something to help us put the constant and dizzying changes in the holiday celebration into perspective. Luckily, the whole problem is put into perspective in a timely manner by one of our most gifted local writers. Who would that be? Well, as Mark Twain said, “I allude in these vague general terms to … myself,” Dorothy Wilhelm.
‘Gateway to Heaven’ dedicated November 22
The Gateway to Heaven opened as scheduled on Saturday, November 22 at St. John Bosco Church in Lakewood. Torrential rain poured down early in the day, threatening the event. However, a window of sunshine opened just before the the crowd arrived to honor former Pastor Lee Hightower, or just for the chance to be the first to step through the Gateway to Heaven newly erected in the parish’s unique Meditation Park.
‘Gateway to Heaven’ dedication to honor Fr. Hightower
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to step through the Gateway to Heaven? On November 22 you’ll get your chance to do that at the dedication of the new Father Hightower Memorial Gateway in the lovely Meditation Park at St John Bosco Church in Lakewood.
This memorial honors SJB’s greatly loved and charismatic pastor who died in 2013. It was built after at the inspiration of then Parish Vicar Father Paul Kenai who approached Parishioner Jim Senko around whose vision the 1.3 acre meditation park is built.
Heritage Questions: Why do Genealogy Detectives have to go to the trouble of keeping a Story Journal?
I can’t believe it’s the last edition of Heritage Questions. It’s been fun visiting about keeping our family histories alive. The major change I’ve noticed is that we’ve gone from thinking about a workshop to understanding that we are really talking about becoming Genealogy Detectives. One of the things I found most surprising is Dee Haviland Fournier’s insistence on proving the “facts” we find and her emphasis on the importance of a Story Journal, because it’s not just about birth and death dates. It’s about real people. So for the last column today, I want to tell you why I think it’s so important that we share and understand our mutual journey.
Heritage Questions: What Does a Genealogy Detective look for?
It’s this Saturday! The Family Research Workshop “From Hudson’s Bay to Downton Abbey” is this Saturday, August 16 to benefit the DuPont Historical Museum from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm. I didn’t suspect until we started working on this interactive program how much it’s possible to learn in just a few minutes, and how important are the family stories that go with the bare facts. For instance:
Heritage Questions: So Am I A Genealogy Detective yet?
I had a call the other day from someone who said she can’t come to our our special heritage event From Hudson’s Bay to Downton Abbey on August 16. But she wanted to let me know that she was writing a check to the DuPont Historical Museum anyway because she believes our small museums are so important. You don’t even have to do that, just plan to be with us next Saturday, August 16, (with lots of surprises, prizes, and a free lunch) all for the benefit of the Dupont Historical Museum.