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Holidays

1 Nov

I’m sorry that my updates have become fewer and far between.  In addition to being busy with a variety of things, I have spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out what comes next.  I’ve been anticipating (and somewhat dreading) the period of time from October 31 until January 8.  We have spent the past several months coping with various “firsts” since Sammy passed away, but the hardest firsts are ahead.

Yesterday was the “first” Halloween, and we chose to spend it out of town.  While I appreciate all of the kids in their costumes, I just didn’t feel I was ready this year to have them standing on my porch ringing my doorbell.  I enjoy autumn decorations and even cute Halloween decorations, but for the past few weeks, I’ve had to seek an alternate route to our house as one of our neighbors down the street has an actual casket decorating his front yard.  In past years, I’ve always thought it was dumb . . . this year, I find it disturbing.  So, we chose to avoid Halloween this year.

With a little creativity, I’m sure we could avoid Thanksgiving and Christmas as well; however, I don’t think that would be healthy or wise, so I’m hopeful that we will embrace them with happy memories.  I’ve read of an old Jewish proverb that says a person dies two deaths.  The first is the physical death; the second is when that person’s name ceases to be used.  Over the next several weeks, Steve and I will be preparing our hearts and minds for the holidays.  The best gift we can receive is the support of friends and individuals who love Sammy–to hear his name and to hear stories about how he touched lives.  These things don’t bring us pain; they bring us peace, comfort, and joy.

A fall picnic . . .

14 Oct

Steve and I enjoyed a picnic yesterday.  There’s a quiet little spot that we sometimes visit where there are tall trees,  lush green grass, and various little creatures scampering about, such as deer, squirrels, birds, butterflies.  It’s a spot that caught our eye quite a few years ago, and we knew that we would eventually take time out of our busy life to truly appreciate it.  Yesterday was one of those beautiful autumn days, so we took a blanket and a picnic lunch and found our exact spot.  Behind us, we could hear the music of wind chimes blowing in the gentle breeze along with birds singing.  To our left, a squirrel was darting around looking for food, and we could smell the sweet fragrance from a nearby apple tree.  I discovered a small Praying Mantis resting on a nearby stone, and it surprised me when it jumped and flew away.  I assumed that they only prayed and moved very slowly, so I learned something that day.  We also learned that we can make the best of any situation and find beauty and peace.

Kindergarten

11 Aug

As much as I try to avoid thinking about it, this week is a difficult one as most of the kids in our area are headed back to school. This year, Sammy would have begun kindergarten.

Just before he passed away, we had begun the early discussions about the possible options available to him. We had hoped that his preschool teacher might also be his kindergarten teacher because she is such a great teacher. Last year, the children in Sammy’s class found a cricket in the classroom, and because they were interested in crickets, his teacher incorporated a cricket theme into their weekly lesson. They learned about crickets–where they live, what they eat, how they make their sounds–and they made their own cricket representations using tissue paper, pipe cleaners, and egg cartons. One little cricket managed to find its way into the classroom, and because his teacher was inspired, Sammy learned all about him.

Last week when I had trouble sleeping, I stayed up late watching TV in the dark. Suddenly, I felt something fall onto me, and I looked up to see what it might be, but of course, it was dark so I didn’t see anything. Still not feeling comfortable about what it was and fearing what it could be, I began investigating, and that’s when I saw the culprit on the carpet. A big ol’ cricket! I’ve since found three crickets in the house so far! Sammy may not be going to Kindergarten this year, but I think he’s still playing the role of class clown by pulling pranks on me!

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