In a moment of frustration I had scribbled a note saying "All I want for Christmas is a new can opener!" I'm sure that you can imagine what just happened with a can of dog food. The word frustration is a pain in itself. Within minutes I received a phone call that made it necessary to make a quick drive to Pea Ridge. I was wandering around in Fred's to pass time and spotted a can opener. Accident or coincidence? Who knows?! But, I bought two hand-held ones. Later, when I have more time, I'll shop for an electric one. Also a new electric knife as mine gave its last slice on Thanksgiving.
I think I must have started the season too early as I'm a conflicted person. The cards are finished, house arranged, tree decorated and groceries bought. So, I want to do a Donald Trump thing and say "Let's do Xmas today!" Right now! Why wait a week?! Let's get it over with!
I guess the family doesn't agree plus Nebraska Grandma isn't here yet. I look forward to her, too. Then, something comes along, a few words, a song or a verse in someone's card and reminds me what a joyous time of year this is!
Something happened in the refreshment line of the church Christmas Festival that improved my mood greatly! Someone said: "Oh, you can handle that, you always have!" And named a couple of instances that I guess had impressed them. Well, what a lift to the spirits and it confirms what the preacher said last week. You never know when, where or how a kind word will blossom.
A quick note that I read in the paper that there are two kinds of prayer -- Please, Please and Thank you, Thank you! We've had some surgery in our family this week, so we've used both types of prayer and many others.
There was an article in the Saturday Evening Post by David McCullough about the Wright Brothers and their philosophy of life. It was: Learn from what went wrong. Learn from your mistakes. Failure is part of life. Well, they practiced it and I had to use it once this week. When my bread pudding had to be fed to the dogs because of my mistake in the recipe.
And, about that tie, I read a biography of General Patton. He was quoted, "Success is measured by how high you bounce when you hit bottom."
This cat in my lap is either the smartest animal or the dumbest. She knows if she gets up here, she'll get petted. But, now, when the school bus comes along, she realizes she's going to get dumped but clings.
I didn't know that there were 12 carats in pure gold but I did know that happiness is on Cloud Nine. Where would I get my education if I didn't read the funny pages of the daily paper?
I'm a better person for having known Mary Lou Beisner!
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Editors note: Edith Lammey has been a resident of the area for nearly 40 years. She can be contacted through The Times at 451-1196 or [email protected].
Editorial on 12/30/2015