Just once a year

We are in the midst of a glorious time of the year when we get to experience a plethora of things,  just once a year.

It begins with Thanksgiving leading right up to Christmas. Many call it the holiday season; I like to refer to it as the traffic light season. Metaphorically speaking: stop for the red light to reflect, go for the green light to shop and prepare for the inescapable commotion that is this time of the year.

At least for me, these are the things that are spoken during this special time of the year: pilgrims, turkeys, Christmas trees, birthdays, shopping, pumpkin pie, and thankfulness. Allow me to elaborate:

PILGRIMS-Unless you are watching a John Wayne movie, the word pilgrim only comes up but once a year around Thanksgiving. Briefly, to the best of my recollection, here is their history. Back in 1620, the Pilgrims were a group of Europeans seeking religious freedom. They boarded a sailing vessel called the Mayflower to come to a new land to make a fresh start. Many, due to illness, died on the trip and once here many died yet again, as the winters were too harsh. The ones who survived made friends with the inhabitants, the Native American Indians, who taught them to grow their own food. On the fourth Thursday of every November we pay tribute to those courageous pilgrims, by sitting down with our families for a feast. Then, subsequently make fun of their bland garb.

TURKEY- Having the traditional Thanksgiving Day bird is most definitely a once a year thing, sometimes twice if you have it for Christmas. Since I was born the day after Turkey day, I have always somewhathad a soft spot in my heart for the feathered creature, known for its gobbling sound. Here are a few random public and personal facts about the turkey that reinforce why I am so fond of them:

a) Ben Franklin has gone on record stating he would have preferred to have the turkey, not the eagle, as the national bird and symbol of the United States. b) Its just not Thanksgiving until I have some turkey, preferably a drumstick. c)Tryptophan is the turkey’s way of getting even with us, which is a condition we all suffer from if we eat too much of it, that causes drowsiness. d) One year before I die, at Thanksgiving, I plan to deep fry a turkey. I just haven’t convinced anyone else to join me in my excursion, yet.
BIRTHDAY(s) - This is definitely a once a year thing. Mine happens to fall on November 24^th, which always lands in the vicinity of T- Giving. I know this may sound strange for an adult male to admit this, but I genuinely like my birthday, As I get older, I’m getting to the point that I realize it is a gift in itself just to be alive. Being forty five years old means I’ve been around enough to know better and yet know enough to make the most of every day. Anymore, gifts are optional; it’s just nice to be remembered by the kids and wife. Also, an added bonus is that my body still works for the most part.

CHRISTMAS TREES- Don’t tell Charlie Brown, but my tree is an artificial one. The peculiar thing about my tree is every year my wife and I discuss replacing it because it drops needles. Yet, somehow when we get it out of the shed we give it the once over and it still looks fine to decorate. A lot like my hairline eventually both will go bald and will have to be dealt with, but for now we persevere. Years ago I had an incident with a real tree, which has dampened my need for one. Long story short, between freezing the tree in the bucket, then hacking the trunk to get it out of the bucket, then my vacuum getting clogged by the crazy amount of needles the tree would drops and I pledged to leave well enough alone . Hence, I gave up on getting a real tree for now. One year I will make Charlie Brown proud again and get a real live pine tree, but not this year.

SHOPPING- I will share very little on this topic, well because I’m a man. If it were up to me, at least at this stage in my life, I would only buy and exchange gift cards. However, I would never have said that when I was a kid. My change in heart sounds nice to me, but realistically for kids this is far too practical and takes the fun out of unwrapping gifts. Giving or getting a gift card, at least for me, takes the angst out of choosing just the right gift and allows the card holder the power to get exactly what he or she wants. Which for me, more times than not, is a coffee, a newspaper and or some snacks on which to munch.

PUMKIN PIE (AND THE LIKE) - It’s funny to me how this time of the year has its own food and drink. Like pumpkin pie and turkey for T-giving and eggnog and fruitcake for Christmas. We indulge in things simply because we always have and somehow eating something familiar helps better put us in the holiday spirit. The holidays on a whole seem to cause us to eat and make merry, at least for me. But, somehow this time of the year means eating is in vogue and puts dieting on the back burner. On Christmas Eve, even though I have it during the year as well, I must have a can of Planters’ peanuts with red Cream soda. A tradition I took from my grandfather many years ago which every year makes me feel like a kid again and helps put in the holiday mood.

THANKFULNESS- Speaking for myself, I wish I complained less and was more thankful, especially during this special time of the year. When the season starts out with Thanksgiving we spend a lot of time saying thank you for just about everything and to just about everybody. Then if you are like me we go Christmas shopping and fight for our space in line and end up grumpy, if we can’t find the right gift, etc and so on. Crazy how we go from a holiday based on gratitude then on to high stress if we can’t complete the gift lists for our loved ones. Human nature is strange, we so quickly forget the reason for the Season, and instead of celebrating the gift of Christ’s birth, we get obsessed with giving just the right gift.

In hindsight, may we all during this holiday season, when we are scurrying about trying desperately to remember all the above things, stop long enough to be thankful as much as possible and make a habit of doing it more than just once a year.

Swavel

Work of Art

 

To define a work of art is a difficult thing, however when you see one, you just know.

For instance, the Mona Lisa hangs in the hallowed Louvre in France, yet for the life of me she just appears to be an ordinary woman no one knows that terribly much about. The same goes for Whistler’s Mother, who I’m sure was a lovely woman, yet if Whistler had not painted her I doubt anyone would have been any the wiser. Then there is the famous painting of a famer with his pitchfork and his wife gauntly staring forward known as the American Gothic that always seemed a bit dubious to me.

Yet, somehow all these works of art wielding a universal appeal have stood the test of time.. There is just something captivating in these paintings, an intangible that transforms people back to another time and place, something that people can relate to and find comfort in it.

For me personally, there is an unnamed work of art that hangs in a hallway where I work, that warms my heart every time I pass by it. It is an oil painting in pastel colors of a city skyline at night. Try as I might, every time that I inquire about it no one seems to be able to shed any light on the painting or its author. However, the one thing that draws my attention most is the reddish/orange heart off in the corner of this work of art. Allow me to explain.

About twelve years ago, my daughter, Alisha, who was almost seven at the time drew something for me on a scrap of paper drawn in markers, with the intent purpose of being a bookmarker. It was simple and had an orange heart on it that read, “Jesus loves You.” It is said that kids teach us far more than we ever teach them. A month after Alisha drew that work of art she died and left behind her a reminder of the simple truth of how much Jesus loves me. That orange heart is like rainbow to me, kind of like what God sent Noah after the flood. Just like the heart in the unnamed picture I mentioned previously, Alisha’s bookmarker reminds me Jesus loves me. Even in my darkest moments, Jesus is not against me, rather He loved me so much and all of us that He gave up His very own life for ours. Now that’s a love or a work of art worth remembering. Her work of art hangs in my cubicle at work to remind me to empty myself of all but love on a daily basis.

Around ten years ago, my son, Jordan, drew a cartoon about me being an exterminator that I have till this day hanging in my cubicle at work. In the picture I am being chased by an angry homeowner after I sprayed in her garden by accident, then I am chased by angry bees, then I am driving in my truck and finally it ends with me eating a sandwich for lunch. The caption reads like this : Hi father. Go get um. Kill dem bug. Spray, spray, spray. Drive , drive , drive. Complain, complain, complain. I love that boy and his artwork because he showed me that he appreciated what I did for him. To this day, this drawing in red marker makes me proud, because in describing an average work day for me at the time in 2002 or so, Jordan made a work of art.

My middle daughter, Sianna, has drawn many works of art over the years as well. But, there are two favorite drawings that standout the most. First, there is her panda drawing that slightly looks like a penguin. Simply drawn on white paper with black marker for the body and brown marker for the eyes, it just reminds me of how simple and basic a child’s love is. Then there is the drawing that I like to call the one eared man. Sianna was attempting to draw a panda but she stopped when it looked more like a man than a bear. For my money, it best sums me up more days than not. It is a very simple drawing of a guy smiling with one ear drawn in black marker. I must admit I do not always pay the closest attention to details, but I try to smile through life and do my best every day. Both works of art reside in my cubicle at work and remind me to keep life simple and make the most of every day.

Then there is Lia’s dolphin fin she made for me out of construction paper. One day Lia out of the clear blue starting making hats out of construction paper for my wife and I. One for Amy and her football team the Pittsburgh Steelers and then Lia made a hat for me for the Miami Dolphins, which I refer to as a Dolphin fin. Basically, they are just Lia’s version of a rally hat. They are works of art to me made in love and a childlike spirit of wanting to be accepted, all the while giving a little piece of herself to us. And like all the others resides in my cubicle at work.

All of these examples serve to remind me that you need not be famous to make a work of art, just be the best you that you possibly can be. May we all live up to the notion that each and every one of our lives is a work of art created by God and crafted by His very own hands. And as He walks by His gallery, if there is such a thing, may we give Him every reason to proudly proclaim, that work of art is mine.

Swavel

 

Temporary Convenience

When the wind blows temporary convenience doesn’t stand a chance. For instance, what occurred last week on Monday, October, 29^th, 2012, when Hurricane Sandy made landfall.

 

Very few of us like our routine or lives interrupted in any way, shape or form. So, when an act of God occurs, we tend to get scared, frustrated, and angry. We feel like we are impervious, until the wind blows and then we realize we can lose everything in a gust of wind. The reality of the matter is, life is temporary and so are the modern conveniences we have grown so accustomed to having all the time. Not until you feel like you have no control do you really understand this truth, that is always lingering in the back of the classroom with its hand held high, waiting for its turn to speak up.

 

Here are just a few snapshots of the utter devastation that Hurricane Sandy left in her wake . Entire beachfronts wiped out. In New York City, a crane dangles from a skyscraper. Down at the Jersey shore, a roller coaster is swallowed up by the Atlantic Ocean. Streets in beach towns that now look like rivers. Locally, large trees laying in yards with the roots still attached to the ground. And the story that amazed me most, train cars are swept off their rails onto the New Jersey turnpike by massive tidal waves.

 

My heart goes out to all of the families who are left homeless and without power. My family and I only lost electric for half a day, because we did not get hit by the full strength of the storm. What stays with me most from the storm, however, is being amazed by the sound of the wind that struck the house, as it howled like a freight train, sounding like at any minute it could blow right through the structure. Also, earlier in the evening, I felt so very defenseless as I went outside to move my van and was pelted by the fierce wind and the sideways rain.

 

We say, or at least I do at times, that it’s all in God’s hands. To be honest, at least from my tiny perspective, I think God allows storms, literally or figuratively, in our lives to occur to remind us He is the only one truly in control. It’s like the story in the Old Testament of the Bible about the prophet, Elijah. God is not in the wind or in all the other things Elijah encounters, God speaks to Elijah through a small still voice. I believe that God allows these outside forces to affect us in an effort to get our attention off ourselves and on Him, so we will listen when He speaks.

 

I guess what I‘m trying to say is tri-fold. Convenience is temporary, my compassion for others needs to remain constant and my trust in God needs to remain continuous regardless of when the wind blows.

Swavel