No Curls for Christmas!

All week long I've planned on today's  9 o'clock appointment to get my Christmas curls!  Well, wouldn't you know it.....I overslept.  Yup, I set the alarm clock for 6 so I'd have time to blog and get myself ready to go to the salon and after that out to lunch with my hubby.  My alarm clock is one of those old wind-up things.  Most days we don't use an alarm clock, so the time itself needed to be re-set besides being re-wound.  Well, I forgot to re-set the time, and thus no alarm went off.

Oh, I'm not too upset.  It's just that my hairdresser is moving away, and I wanted her to do me one more "do" before she left.  A person gets used to someone performing a service for us, whether it be a hairdresser, doctor, or dentist, and when they leave, we feel stuck and stranded.  Maybe we have to experience this abandonment in order to realize the value of those people while we have them.

The doctor I had for many years retired probably twenty years ago, and I still miss him.  No one on the planet could replace him so far as I'm concerned.  Back in the early 1980s I was rushed by ambulance to the hospital during the night for a medical emergency, and by the grace of my Creator it was my doctor who was on call that night and appeared at my side like an angel to take care of me.  I will never forget that. I will never forget him.

We have to move on, tho, and give others a chance to serve us, and if we're not satisfied, then we have the prerogative of looking for someone else.  There's a law of nature that dictates that certain personalities will clash no matter what we do.  Of course, there's also a law of nature that requires us to give-and-take just a little bit.

As we age, we deal with more of this abandonment business.  We lose our grip on "how things used to be" and have to get used to "how things are."  Our household tries desperately to adapt ourselves best we can to the here and now, and not dwell on the past.  Actually, it can be enlightening and challenging to accept the new and refreshing.  Many things new can simplify our lives.  One example is banking online.  I remember how I struggled to pay the bills and balance the check books, but now I get a kick out of the simplicity of it.  

The sun is shining in the east kitchen window, the furnace is running, and all is warm and calm where I live.  A week from today will be Christmas Eve Day, and our house will be bustling with my husband's family.  Our niece will be leaving for Afghanistan in February, and she and her family are driving home from Colorado to be with her side of the family. 

Blessings Basket

For me, Christmas is about slamming on the brakes and coming to a screeching halt......to focus on all our blessings..... spouses, significant others, families, cherished friends, pets, health, homes, jobs, freedoms here in America, our rights of dignity and respect, the people who take care of us in all areas of expertise, our utilities and highway systems, animals, flowers, gardens, talents, our senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell, and speech.  Omigod.....the list of things to be grateful for is immense and without end.  Every single day of life brings with it a basketful of gifts for us......neatly wrapped in the stunning essence of amazement.

You know what?..............I could care less that my hair won't be curly for Christmas.  I'm just thankful for the hair on my head that could have been curled....if I hadn't overslept!