Newsletter Thoughts December 21, 2024

Dear Friends,

On Friday morning I went to Whole Foods to pick up some last-minute ingredients for a family and friends’ dinner that I am hosting Saturday night. As I was leaving, I noticed a rack of wall calendars for sale. With a planner, and computer, and smart phone, and smart watch, I don’t need a wall calendar. They still caught my eye because they brought back such memories of my mom.

She died in January 2020. It doesn’t really seem like five years ago! Anyway, she loved Norman Rockwell prints, and I discovered that I could purchase a calendar with these prints (you still can!)

Calendars became a tradition, so much that one year I forgot the calendar and had to go out and get it on December 26th. Eventually she was happy to receive other calendars as well. On Christmas morning she’d pick up the wrapped package and smile while saying, “here’s my calendar.”

I cherish this memory. This week I listened to a podcast of a person sharing his own experience with grief. He shared that his grief counselor had told him that love and grief go together. I get that!

The holidays, that time from Thanksgiving to Christmas are heavy with feelings for many people. There’s the missing person (or persons) and at the same time the welcoming of new life (a grandson for us) and new relationships.

Thinking of relationships, I listened to another podcast where an expert on happiness was interviewed. Yes, there apparently are experts on happiness. It was a good interview and I had two takeaways to share with you. First was the reminder people who do not have relationships are generally not happy. While listening I wondered how we could foster relationships in our community.

The second take away is sometimes counter intuitive, which is that doing something for someone else increases happiness. They talked about this in self-care terms and I love the example offered.

The expert said that if she went to a coffee place to buy herself a treat while having a bad day, she’d get more happiness if she actually bought the treat for the person behind her in line. She said that even though she knows this, it’s hard. Personally, I think this is a way of caring for one another, and we certainly need that!

I look forward to seeing you all on Christmas Eve.

Pastor Nancy