Looking Back

Can you believe that it’s just a few days until Christmas, already? It’s hard to believe that another year is about to end. When I was a child I was so sure the world would have ended before we reached the year 2000. It was just incomprehensible to me that we could live so long; yet here we are barreling thru the 2000s. I found myself doing some retrospection, looking at all the ways things have changed since I was born:

- Computers are in most homes
- Cell phones are almost a body part, there are few persons who does not own at least one
- Email, instant messaging, voice mail…
- CD-ROMs, DVDs…what’s a floppy disk?
- Ebay
- Penpals are now cyberpals

In addition to all of the above, there’s also the change to the English Language…so many new words have evolved and the meaning of others have changed. I’m sure if I had more time I could increase my list tremendously.

I wonder how many persons take a moment at this time of year to give thanks for all the blessings of the year so far. This is always a bitter-sweet time of year for me as I miss my darling mom more than ever at Christmas. It’s hard to believe that it’s 14 years since she died. Thank God for memories…she’ll live on always in the hearts and minds of those who loved her.

Well, I still have to get a Christmas tree for my little man, Jalen. I know that he’s going to find ingenious ways of getting to it…his dad will have to work on making sure he does not succeed. This will be his second Christmas and I’m so excited. It’s been a long time since I’ve been truly excited about Christmas, but Jalen has brought back the joy of Christmas…it’s a time for children.

Love and Commitment

I found myself pondering this question for the last few days…why? My husband and I have noticed that there is an alarming increase in the in the number of separations and divorce among our friends and acquaintances. It has always been my belief that people in Hollywood didn’t understand commitment and certainly didn’t know a thing about love, but sadly the same level of divorce seems to be becoming a part of everyday society as well.

Don’t get me wrong, there are times when a divorce is inevitable, but I truly believe that some marital problems can be resolved and the couple remains in a happy and committed marriage. One of the main problems resulting in this increase is a failure to communicate with each other. As my mother would say, ‘teeth and tongue will meet’, so yes, couples will quarrel and have disagreements but they should be committed to finding a solution or at least a middle ground from which to sort their problems out.

As I approach my 7th wedding anniversary, I find myself pondering this whole matter of love and commitment. Love cannot sustain itself…it takes work. Couples need to appreciate each other and celebrate their differences as well as their commonalities. Because you’re married doesn’t mean an end to the courtship days of dates and little surprises. Yes, children can put a damper on the frequency of going out, but be creative. After the little ones or not so little ones are in bed, have moonlight snack. Reminisce about the ‘good old days’ when your love was ‘brand new’.

So I leave you with this for today:

Promise yourself to rekindle the passion of first love --- it’s possible.

A New Month, New Year, Fresh Start

If you’re like me, you’ve been wondering where 2005 went; I cannot believe that it’s a new month and the approach of another year. It can be downright depressing if you really dwell on it. There seems to be so little time to do all the things you want to.

You know, I’ve never got caught up in the buzz of Christmas, but this year I’m looking forward to putting up a Christmas tree for my little man. I know he’ll get a kick out of it. And speaking of Christmas isn’t it sad that apart from the commercialization surrounding the season, we’re in real danger of doing away with the word itself. Change can be good, and political politeness is wonderful, but sometimes in trying to please everyone we please no one.

Anyway, I’ve been blessed to find an exciting job as a records officer with an international company. It’s tiring work but exciting and I’m enjoying it tremendously. The only downside is that I’m too tired to spend much time writing, but I try to put in a few minutes here and there.

Overall, the latter part of this year has been good to me. I guess whoever said ‘n God’s time not yours’ is right. There really are silver lining is every dark cloud, we just have to look real hard sometimes to see it.

Well, I’m closing with a promise to myself to update my blog twice per week.