Caleigh O'Shea's Blog, page 41

Shattering the Slump

The pleasure of nostalgia is never without its companion, loneliness. ~Isuna Hasekura, Japanese author

I find it sad to take down the decorations after Christmas.

Removing the garlands, twinkly lights, cheerful bows, spectacular tree, and poinsettias brings a certain wistfulness, unlike putting away coats and boots when spring arrives.

It’s long been that way.

When I was little and we’d go south for the holidays, I’d tiptoe into my grandparents’ living room on the morning we were to return home. I’d gently touch the decorated tree (a retro aluminum thing with a multi-colored spinning wheel) and maybe play with the mini-lights on the ceramic tabletop tree.

Winters weren’t so awful then. Spirited family gatherings, relatives I hadn’t seen in months, and warm Mississippi temperatures melted the sorrows away.

Now our family is smaller. Death and distance seem to magnify the cold and darkness, so I do everything I can to hold on to vestiges of light and happiness.

Starting with the decorations.

Traditionally, I wait until Twelfth Night or Epiphany (Jan. 5 or 6) to pack away Christmas. After all, how can we expect the Wise Men to find Baby Jesus if all the lights and stars are extinguished?

Sure, some folks can’t wait to remove it all, even as early as Christmas night. But legend holds that you should wait until the new year so you can free the tree spirits and ensure that vegetation and greenery will thrive in the coming 12 months.

Whatever you do, don’t wait too long to tackle the task. It’s bad luck to leave everything up past Jan. 6; if you fail to remove it, you’ll have to leave it up until next Christmas!

To combat the natural letdown after the presents are opened and the trimmings put away, I immediately bring out decorations for the next big holiday — Mardi Gras.

Purple, green, and gold strands of lights, along with garland, beads, and doubloons extend the festivities and help me look forward to spring.

How do you shatter the slump after the holidays?

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Here We Grow Again

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Construction begins

New heart center underway

Growth sometimes messy

Note: Our regional hospital is expanding again. This phase is scheduled to open in 2018, providing an additional 65,000 square feet for a variety of cardiac services.

Note 2: For 2018 I’ve decided to participate in WordPress’s weekly Photo Challenge. Join me … and hundreds of other bloggers eager for a prompt and a chance to expand our readership. This week’s topic is Growth. Come on, you can come up with something by next Tuesday, right?

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Welcome, Janus*

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Look closely, and you can see tiny buds on this maple tree — gives me hope that Spring will arrive and erase this frigid winter!

One year passes by

New one arrives with promise

Make it a great one!

 

*Note: Janus was the Roman god of new beginnings. Typically, he’s pictured as two bearded faces on one head, and the faces are looking in opposite directions (over the past and toward the future). Happy 2018, everybody!

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Merry Christmas!

I am grateful for the silence of winter mornings, for the beauty and wonder of the glint of sunlight in frost melting to dew, for the early-riser’s peaceful solitude that sets a mood of thankfulness, hope, and calm for the dawning day. ~Terri Guillemets, American quotation anthologist and author

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First snowfall, winter 2017

I’m taking a few days off to do holiday things with my family, but I’ll be back soon. Love to all, Happy Christmas, and thank you for coming along on this blogging journey with me! I’ll leave you with an Irish Christmas Blessing:

The light of the Christmas star to you,

The warmth of home and hearth to you,

The cheer and good will of friends to you,

The hope of a childlike heart to you,

The joy of a thousand angels to you,

The love of the Son and God’s peace to you.

Sunday’s Gem — Unakite

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. ~Albert Einstein

With the reds and greens of Christmas all around us, I thought it was time to discuss the beautiful salmon and green colored gemstone called Unakite.

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8 mm round Unakite beads

Unakite is a coarse-grained granitic rock containing pink orthoclase and pistachio-green epidote. First discovered in the Unaka mountain range of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, Unakite rates a 6-7 on the Mohs scale (1-10) of hardness (meaning it’s relatively soft and prone to scratches and breaks).

Rarely used in commercial or fine jewelry, Unakite is embraced by craft jewelers for cabochons and beads. Other uses include flooring tiles and windowsills; likely the most famous use is as a trimming to the front steps of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

Healers associate Unakite with two chakras, the third eye for its use in vision, and the heart, for balancing emotions. It’s said to be especially beneficial for promoting a healthy pregnancy and labor, as well as for lifting depressed spirits, uncovering deception, quieting fears, and boosting mental toughness.

Legends claim Unakite can lead you to find things that were lost. Unakite is believed to help you heal from trauma or major illness by encouraging the cells to “remember” a state of perfect health.

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Bracelet featuring 4 mm round Unakite beads and oval Unakite beads (yes, I made it!)

Feng Shui experts say Unakite uses wood energy, enhancing new beginnings, physical growth, and abundance. Wood energy is traditionally associated with the east and southeast areas of a home or room. Place Unakite where you are beginning a new project.

Unakite offers a slow yet consistent energy, teaching patience and perseverance. Wear it in a necklace, keep it near to support various activities like work, or meditate by holding it. Clean it with a soft cloth and soapy water (no ultrasonic cleaners) and store it separately so as not to mar its surface.

Note: The claims here aren’t meant to take the place of medical advice. They’re based on folklore and other sources, and likely “work” best if one’s belief is strong enough!

Learning Something New

Without music life would be a mistake. ~Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher

I knew from a young age I was going to play the clarinet.

That was my mom’s instrument, and I thought following in her footsteps would win me a ticket to joining Band with my friends in fifth grade.

No dice.

I had to wait three whole years — a lifetime, to a kid — before being permitted to sign up for Band.

Because I was already so far behind, I brought my “licorice stick” home to practice every night that first year.

It worked, eventually earning me a scholarship to college.

Fast forward a few years.

My college Band was planning a reunion. We wouldn’t actually take to the field at halftime (some folks were too old!), but we’d sit in the stands and play familiar songs.

Circumstances intervened, and I couldn’t attend.

No matter. They assured me they’d have another in a few years.

That got me thinking. What a great “excuse” to learn a new instrument, something I’ve wanted to try for a long time.

It’s well documented how beneficial playing music is (see here or here) and my decades of training put me ahead of the game.

So I did a lot of research and finally purchased this secondhand:

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A flute! (Did you know the flute requires you to use more air than any other instrument, including the tuba?!)

When it arrived in April 2016, I removed the head joint and blew into it the way I’d learned online. A note came out! I figured I was on the right track.

So I contacted the music department at a nearby college and found a flute student willing to give a few lessons to an adult beginner.

When she graduated, I inherited a second student instructor, who assures me I’m progressing nicely. Probably because I chose the instrument, paid for it, am interested in mastering it, and make practice a priority.

Here we are a year and some months later. I’ve upgraded to a new flute and am loving the experience even more!

Now I firmly believe in Lifelong Learning, and I’m aware that taking music lessons as an adult is as beneficial as taking lessons as a kid. Maybe I’ll never play professionally, but nobody can squash the feeling of satisfaction that comes from learning something new.

And won’t my colleagues be surprised when we do get together and I whip out a flute, not a clarinet?!!

Music is forever; music should grow and mature with you, following you right on up until you die. ~Paul Simon, American musician

Got a Blanket??

Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature. ~Gerard de Nerval, pen name of French poet and author Gérard Labrunie

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Little Snapdragon

Wild, free, and unprotected

Winter is coming.

 

Note: After highs reaching 60 degrees Sunday and Monday, temps here are expected to take a nosedive by the weekend … down to the 20s and low 30s. Brrr! Hope this little flower finds a way to survive an Illinois winter.

Another Year Older

Happy Happy Birthday to the cutest little senior dog in the world!!

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The Importance of Being Kind

Instead of complaining that the rosebush is full of thorns, be happy that the thorn bush has roses.  ~Proverb

A friend of mine says you can’t fix stupid, and she’s 100 percent right.

But maybe it’s possible to fix pettiness.

Like the other day in church.

A youngster, probably aged eight or nine judging by the fact that I hadn’t seen him as an altar server at this Mass before, was doing his best to light about a dozen candles . . . and having some trouble with it.

You see, the candles were brand new. Very tall, with obviously pristine wicks.

He was using one of those awkward candlelighters, maybe for the first time.

And he was short, as many young boys are, so he couldn’t see the wicks to light them.

Now one of the ushers had volunteered to help, but he obviously believed the best way to help somebody is to let them try for themselves, then step in if needed or requested.

The entire time Altar Server and Usher were on the altar riding the Struggle Bus over the candles, some woman a couple of rows behind me was grousing.

Out loud.

The kid wasn’t doing it right. Wasn’t fast enough. Wasn’t watching to make sure the sleeve of his robe didn’t catch fire. And the Usher wasn’t helping either. Just standing around watching.

I was horrified to realize everybody around her must have heard her complaints.

Eventually, fed up, I whirled around and glared at her. (I know, it wasn’t exactly the Christian thing to do, but I’d had enough of her barbs.)

And miraculously, she quieted down!

This slice of life started me thinking. Catholic Churches aren’t big on bringing guests to Mass — not like our Protestant brethren.

But what if I’d had a guest? Or what if somebody near me had? How embarrassed would we all be with one of our own criticizing a young’un for being small, with a lot yet to learn?

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. ~Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama

Thanksgiving 2017

The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving. ~H.U. Westermayer

We need a real Thanksgiving

More now than ever before

With families ’round the table

Instead of at the store.

We need a real Thanksgiving

More feast and family gladness

More charity and good will

Less Black Friday madness.

We need a real Thanksgiving

With football and post-meal naps

Fewer sales and frenzied shopping

More hot cocoa and night caps.

We need a real Thanksgiving

A full day without bad news.

No phone, TV, or Internet,

Nothing to give us the blues.

We need a real Thanksgiving

Who’s with me on this thought?

A day of peace and gratitude

And celebrating as we ought.

Note: Happy Thanksgiving to one and all! My son Domer is home to help me prepare the feast and yes, we’ll probably do a bit of shopping … after the holiday! I’ll catch up with you all in a few days.