Archive for the ‘Holidays’ Category

A Christmas Story

Posted on January 9, 2012

Hi Everyone,

I hope you survived the holidays, that they were better than expected, and if not, that you’re happy they’re behind you, and we can move ahead into a new year.

I’ve been busy. My children were home for ten days, which was absolutely wonderful; we had a good time together. And although we all dreaded this Christmas, as the first one without their father, we got through it, and it turned out to be much sweeter than expected, with a few tears and many bittersweet memories, and some real fun too. (We played games at the dinner table on Christmas Eve this year, with some fairly rude prizes, and laughed a lot. Irreverence and laughter was the perfect antidote to sadness, and carried the day.) And being together as a family was a real blessing. » read more »

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Round Two: New Year’s Eve

Posted on December 26, 2011

There are two days of the year that I find particularly challenging, and have had some serious battles with: Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve. We all know and are told how we’re supposed to feel on those two days: madly in love on Valentine’s Day, surrounded by bouquets of flowers, with enough chocolates to keep you with a mouthful of chocolate for a year, or if you’re a single woman, maybe an engagement ring. And married or single, the man you love is supposed to come through on Valentine’s Day and prove that he adores you. Yeah, well, good luck to you!!! Most of the men I know, married or not, either forget the day, or avoid it like the plague. And as one of my men friends says, guys just don’t care about chocolates and flowers. (I won’t tell you what he said they really do care about, you can figure that one out for yourself, but it was neither chocolates, nor flowers, no surprise there). So let’s face it, the chances of Valentine’s Day being fabulous are not fantastic. I got one marriage proposal on Valentine’s Day which resulted in 18 years of marriage and 8 kids, so I figure I used up all my tickets on that one, and Valentine’s Day hasn’t been too impressive ever since. I can live with it. » read more »

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The Big One: Round One

Posted on December 19, 2011

Whatever your religious or non-religious convictions, the holidays hit most of us pretty hard. I know very few people who can thread their way through these loaded days, go on with their golf game, reading the newspaper, or cleaning their oven, without being at least somewhat impacted by these important days. (And if you can get by without being shaken up by them, more power to you!!!). It’s not just about the hype of what we’re supposed to expect, or how great it’s going to be (maybe), or the present you desperately want (and you get a poinsettia instead, or a fruitcake—I HATE fruitcake!! It’s not chocolate. If I’m going to pile on calories, let it be on something chocolate, not dried fruit). Our expectations start building in our childhoods, and even as adults, there’s a little kid in us that wants it to be perfect, for Santa to know just what we want and show up with it, and all the people we love to be nice to us. Sometimes all of that happens, and sometimes it just doesn’t, and when it doesn’t, we get sad. And important holidays seem to magnify everything we feel: Either REALLY happy, or really sad. » read more »

Uh Oh…….Here They Come Again!!!

Posted on November 21, 2011

Hi Everyone,

For the past several years, I’ve been spending Halloween in Europe, and finally this year, the inevitable happened….with one ‘child’  (my youngest) a senior in college, four others in their early twenties, and the oldest three grown up and married…..NONE of my children dressed up for Halloween this year. I never thought that day would come, and just thinking about it, a bevy of their costumes come to mind….the Octopus in Little Mermaid…..the Little Mermaid herself….(the hooker in “Pretty Woman”…oops), witches, nuns, the year my oldest daughter dressed up as a pumpkin, with green dyed hair and an orange face, and then couldn’t get the orange dye off her face for 2 weeks…her boyfriend dressing up as her dog, dropping plastic ‘fleas’ all over the house….vampires, fake blood, and finally, my own Grand Finale dressed as a Whoopi Cushion a few years ago. Definitely, some memorable moments. I’m actually really sad to see this era end. But there it is….no more Halloween costumes for us. It took a while, many, many years in fact. And for all those years, they started planning their Halloween costumes as soon as summer came to an end. » read more »

Filed Under Family, Holidays | 9 Comments

Great Expectations: “That was then. This is now.”

Posted on May 16, 2011

I recently had an interesting experience about motherhood, and really more about expectations, and what happens when we let them go.

One of my favorite holidays is Mother’s Day—because I get celebrated, get presents and don’t have to get a year older. Wow!  Talk about a great deal.  And my kids have always given me fabulous mother’s days, and having nine kids made that a pretty exciting day.  But kids grow up, mine live in three cities, all are busy with lives and careers, some have kids, and it’s not as easy anymore to get together for Mother’s Day. » read more »

Filed Under Holidays, Kids | 3 Comments

Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 14, 2011

Now there’s a big subject. A BIG subject. Valentine’s Day. And people think I know about these things. I’m not so sure I do. I’ve told some of you before, I got off to a rocky start with Valentine’s Day, I was the only girl in 3rd grade who didn’t get a Valentine. It sucked. But I was only 8 then, so at least there was some excuse. And since then, I had one marriage proposal » read more »

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The Aftermath of Christmas

Posted on January 4, 2011

Hi Everybody,

Wow!!! The aftermath of Christmas…..I love the holidays, and all the cozy, childlike traditions we embrace. The old decorations we hang on the tree from bygone years, » read more »

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Auld Lang Syne…

Posted on December 28, 2010

New Year’s Eve is always a dilemma for me. Maybe a little like Valentine’s Day, only worse. If you don’t have a romance in your life, and aren’t a couple, you’re pretty much left out » read more »

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Giving Thanks

Posted on November 23, 2010

As you all know, I talk a lot about gratitude, and how important I think it is. And I love knowing that there is a holiday dedicated to that idea. I know, it’s about family and food, and sharing a good meal with friends, and we all fret and stress about who’s doing the cooking, do we have enough, is the turkey too dry and who will carve it, and we groan over the one guest someone invited that no one likes (but maybe really needed a place to go). Squabbles break out, children show up in ridiculous outfits, » read more »

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Autumn in Paris

Posted on October 25, 2010

After a glorious September in San Francisco (following a freezing summer, the coldest in years), instead of a few golden days of Indian summer, we had weeks of it, and I lay in the sun like a lizard soaking up the last rays of sun (even though it’s no longer p.c., I always feel better with a tan, at least in the summer months, and am city pale the rest of the year)—-I trotted through New York in October (and appeared on the CBS Early Show for my new book “Legacy”), and it was just the beginning of fall in New York. And from there I went to Paris, and found myself smack dab » read more »

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