Regarding Resolutions

The last gift I receive this season may be an ill-fitting storm.  I knew I was going to get it for I had been warned. It began early Christmas day with a light rain. Normally, I would expect snow this time of year, but with the temperatures being as they were (about sixty degrees warmer than the previous Sunday) it had to be rain.

The rain was steady throughout the day becoming heavier as the darkness descended. There had been talk of a flooding risk in the valley, as the frozen ground would not admit the rain and melting snow.

Strong winds joined the storm to drive the rain against the windows. As I fell into bed I knew I would have a fitful night of sleep for, “...when the wind blows the cradle will rock, when the bough breaks the cradle will fall…” I wondered how many trees would remain upright in the stand behind the barn as the wind thinned the thicket; I imagined finding many of their remains in that copse.

Long ago I gave up timing my trimming with the calendar, for when I asked my dad about the best time to trim a tree, he responded, “the wind doesn’t care.” I had plans to do my own cutting and felling in the New Year; in fact, you could say I had resolved to do it.

Now that the ghost of Christmas present has joined the past, we begin to look at the coming year with all its promise. We resolve to lose weight, promise to eat healthier, pledge to exercise more, plan to be kinder, intend to read more, decide to write more, commit to pray more, aim to be a better friend.

My correspondence is in need of some attention. My running shoes are gathering dust. My brother’s albums need to be cleaned and played, and there are books that have much to tell me.

The first of the year seems to be the perfect time to start over. The calendar is clear, the way is certain and our resolve is strengthened. However, if I waited until January 1^st of every year to improve myself (versus trying to improve others) I would have significantly fewer opportunities to do so than other pivotal moments.

For instance, the first of every month is a wonderful time to begin a new project, but other than a marked thirty days (give or take) ahead of you, is it really any better than the following Monday to begin anew? Perhaps we can also agree that tomorrow is a good day to start over with a new direction. But why wait until tomorrow?

My family likes to plays games (not the Joe South type), and what we always find is that win or lose you get to start over fresh, immediately if you like.

The wind blows and the rain falls. The storm did for me what I had not done for myself – it trimmed the trees. But as for my other resolutions, there is no time like the present.

Thought That Counts

When exchanging gifts people love to say, “It’s the thought that counts,” especially to cover up any awkwardness. I’ve given a lot of thought to Christmas gifts today, so I guess that should count for something.

For some, Christmas shopping takes on a frenzied, panic-stricken feeling this time of year. With less than a week to go until Christmas, even the most creative of us can be put to the test trying to come up with the perfect gift at the last minute.

So, as my gift to you allow me to offer some gift ideas.  If the person has a hobby or a collection use that as your theme. For instance, I was standing outside today filling birdfeeders in sub zero weather. Only an idiot would do that right –not necessarily. Bird lovers who live in Minnesota also fit the bill (or beak). So for them, a gift list could include, books about birds, birdseed, bird feeders, binoculars, and bird shot when they’ve grown tired of standing in the cold spilling expensive birdseed on the ground

Anyone who displays a collection (figurines, bottle caps, commemorative presidential plates) in his or her home is fair game for an addition at Christmas time.  Ignore them if they tell you they have enough. As long as they have their display, you can thoughtfully add to it.  It’s that easy.

You can also bring some light into someone’s world. It gets dark quite early this time of year in Minnesota, but you can change that with a candle. Candles can set the mood for a romantic dinner until wax drips on the tablecloth. When the sunsets in the afternoon a candle can help brighten an otherwise cold, dark day. They come in a variety of colors and scents certain to annoy the most sensitive on your list. Make sure to buy the kind that crackles as it burns. It will fire their imagination as it gives them something to listen to and smell on those long winter nights. “Do you smell AND hear something burning?”

Although it’s true that not everyone loves wearing a scarf, there are few things more practical and fashionable than a scarf. A scarf will keep you warm, and if paired with the right outfit, it will speak volumes about your style sense. Consider giving a scarf as a gift. It’s as if you were giving the recipient a hug when they put it on. If they don’t hate it, they will thank you.

Quick and easy gifts include a snow shovel for the fitness freak who insists they need to go to the gym for a good workout; pecan pie filling in a jar for the person too lazy to bake a pie (you can eat it by the spoonful right from the jar – trust me), a thermometer with a reading for absolute zero (-460 Fahrenheit) for our friends in the south who think twenty below is cold, and a generous supply of lip balm to keep his or her lips from freezing, cracking and falling off.

Last, but not least – give the gift of stationary and stamps. Include a hand-written note expressing your sentiments. They will appreciate the thought.

Merry Christmas.

Keys To Happiness

The other day I was sifting through some clutter looking for some junk that I wanted to pass on to my grandsons. In the process, I found an uncovered oval tin, decorated with scenes of rabbits, flowers and butterflies – uncomfortably out of season for Christmas but certainly fitting for Easter. It had belonged to my mother and was full of locks, keys and key chains. I was saving them – just in case.

That’s the way it is with keys, you hang onto them because you just never know when you might need one. There was a lot of lock and key history in there. Keys were stamped with the names of Dexter, Hardlock, and Slaymaker.

Also in the tin was some history of my family. There was a key chain with the name of Barth on it.  Mom and Dad had a Barth motorhome our family had a lot of fun in traveling around. There was a key chain in the shape of a pink flower from the Northstar Inn Minneapolis. “I’ve been Pampered in Pink,” was stamped on the plastic.  Although I can’t say I remember being pampered in pink or purple, I do remember traveling into Minneapolis to stay at a hotel from time to time for a little vacation.

There was a key marked, “back door,” which hung in the garage to unlock the back door of our house (the front door was for guests and salesmen). As I got older, I would retrieve that key to let myself in after Mom and Dad were in bed.

I found a Briggs & Stratton key and one stamped Sears. I can’t say for sure, but I imagine they were for a snow blower and a lawn mower. In addition to taking care of our lawn and snow, Dad would make sure we took care of our neighbors in need as well.

There were keys to wind clocks, which reminds me that time does not stop even though a clock may; there were keys to fit in round holes and keys to fit in square holes. That’s the way it was at our home, all of us fit in; we never felt like a square peg in a round hole.

It was at home where I learned that even though we are presented with many choices, many doors to walk through, there are a few simple keys to a happy life if one would just take the time to learn them.

Spend time with your family.  Whether it’s camping, an overnight hotel stay or just staying home and playing a game, time spent with your kids will help them become well-adjusted adults.

As your children grow up, move out and on with their lives, make sure they know they are always welcome back.  Hide a key for them or give them the combination to the garage door.

There is nothing more secure than knowing you will always have a home.

Help out your neighbors by mowing their grass, shoveling their snow or sharing a meal. By the way, we all live in a big neighborhood.

I still think I will give the grandsons some trinkets to play with, but more importantly, I want to pass on some simple keys to live by.

Santa 2016

Dear Santa,

Merry Christmas! I know it’s been a year since I last wrote. It’s difficult to maintain a friendship communicating just once a year. Santa, are you one of those guys who believe it’s “Out of sight, out of mind,’ or rather do you subscribe to ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder?” Either way, a letter beats the modern-day equivalent of texting or email.

I suspect that this isn’t the sort of letter you usually get at the North Pole. You will notice I don’t have a long list of things I want (toys or otherwise), and I am not going to lie to you about being good.

Let’s start with the noticeably absent list of wants. Wants and needs usually don’t occupy the same space, as there really are just a few things a person needs in life. Maslow illustrated that in his famous pyramid in 1943 (I am curious – what did he ask for as a child?). My point is that I have everything I need from food and shelter to security, friendships and more. 

Even though I’m not asking you to deliver anything, if you have time when you fly by the house stop in and we can talk (I will try and stay awake this time). I will have cookies and hot chocolate out, plus you can use the bathroom to freshen up if you like. I can imagine it could be a long night otherwise.

You will notice that this year’s cookies are low-fat oatmeal and raisin, instead of the usual sugar cookies rolled out in the shape of you. Why it’s true that no one has heard of a skinny Santa, it’s also true that a morbidly obese one can’t live forever (or can you?). There must be room in the middle between skinny and fat.

Perhaps mortality isn’t a concern for you. I know it is for me; the sand in the hourglass eventually runs out. Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not old, and I don’t feel old. I have friends who are in their sixties and seventies, and they’re not old either. To grow up doesn’t mean you have to grow old.

I remember one Christmas when I got what must have been one of the last toys my parents bought for me. It was a battery powered toy razor (just like Dad’s electric, but without the blades). It was a toy for a boy who was perhaps too old for toys and too young for the things of adults. I was in the middle. Once again I find myself in the middle, middle age. I don’t need more stuff; I am more interested in ways to save time and make memories. Will you have any of those in your sleigh?

Oh yes, I almost forgot the second piece. Have I been good? I’ll give you the same answer my grandson gave me when I asked him that question a couple weeks ago. “Right now I am.” Sometimes it’s still all about the present.

Please forgive me for the long pause between letters Mr. Clause. Have a blessed Christmas.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men.” Luke 2:14 (KJV)

Christmas Trees

My friend Lana posted a picture of an idyllic scene where she had found her Christmas tree. “A successful hunt,” she said.

Now before I lose half of you, allow me to explain that I have hung ornaments on real and artificial Christmas trees. I can safely say we had a “good Christmas,” each year without regard to the style of tree we stood in the stand.  In fact, I think it’s safe to say that the importance of the tree was secondary at best and did not dictate the season’s outcome.  However, sometimes the tree played a big part in making a particular year memorable.

I’ve put up my share of Christmas trees, sometimes the same one twice in a season, One year when the kids were little, they thought it would be a good idea to pluck an end from the tree for their own playful purpose, and the tree came crashing down. Another time when my sister (smaller than average size) was visiting during the blessed season and chose to stroll, rather casually and without haste through the living room, the tree tipped over. Yet another year, the tree, without any provocation or forewarning (other than the previous times) fell, breaking ornaments and lights, sending needles and water to and fro.

I fashion myself a quick learner – so after a time or two of trees flinging themselves onto the floor, I invested in a wide tree stand. The stand was so wide that if assembled outside of the display area, it would have to be tipped on its side to get through the door.

A wide stand did not prevent needles from finding their way down my shirt as I lay on the floor securing the tree into the stand.  It took me a few years until I began to wear a hooded sweatshirt for the occasion – more evidence of my ability to learn quickly.

Whenever I hear people talk about “trimming the tree,” I always think of a chainsaw.  The merry attendant at the Christmas tree lot reminds you to make a fresh cut on the trunk when you get it home. I usually took the suggestion too far, forgetting that the enemy of good is better. One year I reduced a seven-foot Fraser Fir to a dwarf variety better suited as a tabletop tree.

Of the available varieties (Balsam fir, Fraser fir, Scots pine, blue spruce, white pine and Norway pine), one year we got one that could have been named brown Sahara. It was so dry that whatever needles didn’t pierce your skin as you decorated it, fell to the floor with abandon as the 25^th of the month approached. At the end of the season I hauled out what resembled a pole with some sticks protruding from the sides.

Real trees seem to resist my best efforts. I’ve knocked over lamps bringing a tree through the house, and in memory of my father, I have thought of throwing my glasses across the room when an uncooperative tree bumped them aggressively.

On the other side of the fence are artificial or heirloom trees. They are by definition fake. They come in a variety of colors (blue, green, pink and silver) and can be flocked to make them appear as if it had just snowed in your living room. For that special forest scent you can adorn them with car air fresheners, the kind that look like miniature trees.

This year, on Black Friday, my wife bought a pre-lit tree in a box. It’s not the romantic ideal of cutting one down in your woods (or your neighbor’s) or going to a tree farm, but our annual quest for the perfect tree has yielded a keeper, a trophy worthy of display.