Too Much, Too Little Christmas?

Christmas: a time of excess...

Too much food, too much drink.  Too many parties, too many relatives.  Too much money spent and too many useless gifts received.

But then...

A brightly lit tree viewed from a dark snowy lane; a cup of hot cocoa warming shivering hands; an old Christmas song filling the heart with joy; young faces dazzled by early morning treasures; old hearts thundering with love and pride for a house filled with thier kin, thier blood.

Christmas: it is enough.

2011: Solving Problems Right Here, Right Now

I'm going to help you. That's right, I'm going to solve all your problems right here, right now.

I'm going to make this next year the most stress free, joy-filled period of your life.  

I'm going to ensure you exceed all your 2011 goals, both personally and professionally.

I'm going to have your dishes washed, the laundry folded and put away, and the blinds cleaned.

I'm going to have a balanced meal on the table at five o'clock every day, and put a yogurt in your lunch bag.

I'm going to give you a pat on the back when you need it and a high five when you least expect it.

I'm going to be that voice in your head that says, "Yes, you can!"

Who am I kidding?
Okay, so there's no way I can really do all that.  Not for you.  But maybe I can do it for myself.  And if I can for myself, then maybe you can do it for yourself.

Its at least worth a try, don't you think?

Invite To An Imaginary Christmas Party

I'm throwing an imaginary Christmas party and you're invited. 

The best people are there: Jimmy Stewart, Burl Ives and even little Natalie Wood.  And you, of course.

Holiday music from Percy Faith, Perry Como, Johnny Mathis fills the air with a festive note. Guests gather around a tuned piano ready for a group sing along.

A blazing fire burns off the winter chill and cups are filled with Christmas cheer.  Hung mistletoe catches everyone unawares and quick embarrassed kisses are given.

Peace and love and harmony fill the house and all within it.  When Tiny Tim says, "God bless us everyone," there's not a dry eye to be found.

Then the Grinch and Scrooge and Randy Quaid all show up drunk, trash the party and ruin everything. 

But hey, thanks for coming.  Merry Christmas.

Be Creative. Write Something.

And so it began, words to paper: my first story.  Two really.  A class assignment from my sixth grade teacher.  Be creative, were her words, write something.

And so I did.  Quickly, pure adrenaline and emotion, I poured my twelve year old heart out onto lined notebook paper.  The stories?  I don't remember the first one.  But the second one,  how could I ever forget?  Pulitzer material had never been created by one as young as I. 

It was about a monkey using a banana like a telephone.  He used the banana to call down the tree to order (you guessed it) - more bananas!  It was, in short: BRILLIANT.  ASTOUNDING.  BREATHTAKING.

I wasn't the only one who thought it was the greatest thing ever put to paper.  My teacher chose my stories, both of them, to read to the class.  This was unheard of.  Both stories?  And from me, the new, misplaced southern girl in an Oregon classroom.

The reaction from my classmates?  Let's just say I still get thank you letters all these years later.  That monkey story really changed peoples lives.  Made them sit up and take notice of the world with wider eyes and an open heart.  Made them rethink everything they'd ever thought about anything and everything.

Well, maybe it didn't have that kind of an impact.  Maybe they only laughed at my monkey's antics.

But my stories were transformative, for me.  I'd found the thing I was good at and it instilled a belief in me that I have to this day. 

I'm meant to write.

This seed planted in 1980 has grown within me and is even stronger today than when it was planted.  It has given me a certitude in life, a purpose, one that I still dedicate myself to, some days more easily than others.

On those days when it does not come so easily, I think of that monkey with his banana to his ear saying, "Hello, hello?" and I know that I am still on the right path, even now when I am the misplaced southern girl in Iowa.

Thus my humble beginnings are revealed.

And you, avid reader?  How did it begin for you?  What are you great at and when did you discover this?  How has it impacted your life?

I'd really like to know.  I'm looking for new ideas to steal.  Who knows, you might become my next great monkey story?