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Food Processor

Posted by eph21920 on December 28, 2019 in Family, Food, Joy, Present

It was a snowy day, so seemed like a good time to try out the new food processor my son got me for Christmas. I had already unboxed it, read all the instructions, run all the parts through the dishwasher, and even watched a couple of videos on how to work it. For lunch, I used it on the leftover ham to make ham salad. Later on I made some homemade applesauce. Each of the dishes took literally seconds to put together in the new machine. For all my preparation, it made short work out of the meal preparation, and it was great.

I Found God today enjoying a new appliance that will make cooking easier.

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No Christmas Cards

Posted by eph21920 on December 27, 2019 in Friends, Grateful, Life, Sick

Over the past couple of days, I have received some hand written notes, letters, and phone calls from friends. It is great to hear from them and catch up on what is going on. But at the same time, I feel somewhat contrite because I never mailed out any Christmas cards. I started to get them together, but never was able to follow through with the whole project. Not to make excuses, but my dad was sick in the weeks leading up to Christmas. That meant a little more disinfecting the house, a little less sleep, and a little more attention to keeping myself from getting sick. In any case, I have really enjoyed touching base with friends. Perhaps I will get out a New Year’s letter…

I Found God today touching base with friends.

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After Christmas Observations

Posted by eph21920 on December 26, 2019 in Life, Stranger

I took a little walk this afternoon in the brisk air. It was interesting to see what was happening the day after Christmas. There were several people out walking as well. Some were alone, some were with others, some were walking dogs. I noticed the mostly deflated Christmas decorations lying on the ground awaiting another chance to stand back up again. Some houses had their Christmas lights still on. I saw several nativity scenes that I had not noticed when I was driving. A young man and woman came out to their front yard with some snow shoes and found a small patch of snow to try them out on. Two young boys ran from one house to the other. Three cars pulled away from a house, two of them had out of state license plates. I imagined where they might be headed – out to dinner, perhaps to a show, maybe to movie. There were children playing on the school playground. I enjoyed just being outside, walking, taking notice of what was going on around me.

I Found God today noticing those around me.

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Virtually Together

Posted by eph21920 on December 25, 2019 in Connected, Family, Life, Travel

This Christmas was a little smaller and quieter than those in the past few years. One of my brothers’ was staying in a warmer location and the other one was sick and didn’t come here as he usually does. My nephew and his girlfriend were also unable to be here on this day. So, we were able to video chat all of them at the same time for our festivities. Everyone but my son on the east coast was able to be virtually present. We opened presents together and played a white elephant game which was a little challenging, but in my opinion it added to the fun. Technology really helps us be together when we can’t be physically in the same place.

I Found God today enjoying the ability to virtually be with those far away.

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Various People

Posted by eph21920 on December 24, 2019 in New, Stranger

My parents and I went to Christmas Eve Mass at 6:00 pm and one of my sister’s met us there. The family that sat in front of us was too cute. My dad struck up a couple of conversations with the husband who proudly introduced his family and foreign exchange student. They had 5 children, just like my parents did. During the sign of peace, the little boy who was the youngest was being held by his dad and just beaming. My dad told him he had a very nice smile. The little boy replied that he really liked to smile. That made all of us smile as well. Next to us was a woman who we would see on a regular basis. She had her grandson with her who she was eager to introduce. Behind us was a woman who belted out the Christmas carols for all to hear, and not necessarily on key. After Mass, my sister and I realized we were both thinking the same thing – she must really love singing those songs and was very much enjoying herself. It’s always enlightening attending Christmas Mass and being around people other than the “regulars”. It brings all kinds of different people together, all to celebrate the occasion of the birth of Jesus – when God came to us, for us.

I Found God today in various ways in new people.

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Didn’t Make It

Posted by eph21920 on December 23, 2019 in Answer, Family, Sick, Travel

My brother called this morning to say that some of his symptoms acted up and he was feeling pretty bad. Unfortunately, it would not be good for him to travel. So, sadly, he cancelled his flight. We will really miss him for Christmas. But, it seems that once again God knew what He was doing, even though it wasn’t necessarily what we all wanted. We were happy that my brother was home taking good care of himself. And because the airline made it impossible for him to catch his flight yesterday, he received a full refund on the ticket. We will see him in a few months.

I Found God today taking care of my brother.

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Not Today

Posted by eph21920 on December 22, 2019 in Answer, Family, Prayer

My brother was due to fly in tonight for his Christmas visit. However, he wasn’t feeling great and with my dad not completely well yet, we debated and discussed whether it would be a good idea to come or wait another day or so. He even called the airlines to find out his options. I suggested he take a few minutes in quiet prayer and see what he felt would be the best choice. He was still waffling but decided to come. About half an hour later, he called and told me his flight was delayed meaning he would miss his connection. Prayers answered. He will come tomorrow.

I Found God today in a definitive answer.

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No Scrooge Here

Posted by eph21920 on December 21, 2019 in Answer, Family, Grateful, Healing, Life, Past, Sick

My dad has had a cold – or something – for the last 2 weeks. It started with a cough, went to his head which cleared up, but the cough lingered. The other night he was up coughing most of the time. So yesterday, we called his doctor and spoke to the nurse who suggested we go to an emergicare. I called ahead so they were all ready to see him when we arrived. The doctor, “Bob” said my dad had the same crud that most of the city has. He prescribed an inhaler and another medication to help calm the inflammation in his bronchial tubes, and all but guaranteed my dad would be sleeping better and coughing less . We were in and out in no time. Sure enough, “Bob” was right. My dad did sleep much better last night. We were all very happy he is feeling a little better.

Tonight we watched “A Christmas Carol”. There are so many versions available, it was difficult to decide which one. My dad wanted to see the one that was closest to the original story. We chose wisely. Not too far in to the movie, Scrooge’s nephew paid him a visit. My dad played that part in a school play about 78 years ago. He wanted to play the part of Scrooge, but his friend was chosen instead. My dad said he remembered saying some of the same exact lines. He enjoyed the movie and reminiscing very much.

I Found God today in a favorable diagnosis and result.

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Oops Moments

Posted by eph21920 on December 19, 2019 in Answer, Grateful, Humor, Life, Problem

As you may be able to imagine, there are many “oops moments” here, with my parents being 87 and 89 and me running around trying to take care of things. For some reason, I was keenly aware of them today. Perhaps it was because my daughter-in-law shared a couple of her own “oops moments” this morning. One of my big ones was this morning at the laundromat. I brought in 3 big comforters to wash and dry in their giant machines. Once they were finished, they were too big for me to fold by myself and I felt awkward asking a stranger there to help me. So, I packed them into one of the rolling baskets that they have and rolled it out onto the sidewalk in front of the car. As I unloaded the first one into the trunk, I heard a crashing sound and was afraid to look. Sure enough, the cart had rolled off the curb and the nice clean comforters were spilling into the parking lot – into the melting ice that was turning into a grey slushy mess. I gathered them up and couldn’t help but chuckle at the irony. When I got them home, there was really only one bad spot on one comforter, so it could have been worse. There were a couple other “oops moments” during the day – some laughable, some not. But at the end of the day, we’re all still here, home, safe, and turning in for the night, and for that I am grateful. As my son said to his wife, In the long run, that doesn’t matter. It’ll be OK.

I Found God today not getting upset over “oops moments”.

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Disease Reminder

Posted by eph21920 on December 18, 2019 in Children, Healing, Life, Past, Sick

Tonight on the news, there was a story of a dance company that chose a couple of girls to be in their performance of The Nutcracker. The thing that was unique about the girls is that they had degenerative diseases and spent much of their time in hospitals or doctor’s appointments. One of them had arthritis. As her mother spoke of the illness and treatments that the girl endured, it brought me right back to the time when I also struggled with the disease. When I saw the girl move, it was like looking at myself at her age. When she talked about her experience with the dancers, she said she would like to open a studio like that some day so that others don’t have to feel like they are not important. She said she felt like that a lot, but not now that she’s dancing. Now she felt like she was important. I remember feeling the same way and that it took a long time to find a place where I belonged and people who accepted me for who I was. For me, the disease went into “remission” which I attribute to Our Lady of Lourdes. The story was a reminder of what I went through and what God has done for me. As I pray for the girl and her family, I wonder if there is anything else I would be able to do to help her.

I Found God today remembering how He has blessed me.

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