Monday, December 27, 2010

The Gift of Friendship

I have had a very interesting phenomenon acting in my life over the past year and a half. Old friends, that I had completely lost contact with, have starting reappearing. It started a little over a year ago when I heard from a childhood friend from out of state. We had been good, little friends and then her family moved away. She came back to Oregon and we attended the same college but then, life happened, time passed and we stopped communicating. Still, when we got together again, it was as if no time had gone by. It has been a joy to spend time with her. Then, my cousin moved to the area and although we weren't really close as kids, we have taken the opportunity to get to know each other better and it has been a blessing. But wait, the ball kept rolling. While at my high school reunion, I learned that a friend from my teen years was living in Eugene ... another reconnect. Then there is Facebook. I have found and reconnected to an old college friend and a woman who was actually my maid of honor in my wedding. Again, I had lost contact with these women when they moved from the area and our lives got busy with raising children and all of the other happenstances of life. Still, when we start talking, the years melt away and they are essentially the same people I knew. It seems that nature does indeed abhor a vacuum because when my children were raised and left home I was lonely. The universe seems to have answered in the form of a windfall of old and dear friends. The added bonus to all of this is that through some of these women, I have met new friends as well. I think that I am very lucky to have the opportunity to reconnect with so many great women. I hope that I bring something to the table as well. I have learned two very valuable lessons from this experience: the first, never lose touch with your women friends because you will need them someday; and the second, when you're yearning for something and you open yourself to it, the universe will answer. I'm feeling extremely lucky to have these second chances in my life.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Downsizing

Okay, so we aren't really downsizing .... yet. But, I am downsizing Christmas a bit this year. Instead of two large Christmas trees and a small tree in several other rooms, I am putting up one large tree and perhaps a couple of decorative tabletop trees. I divided the kids' ornaments into boxes to pass on to them ... now that they are going to be married and in their own households. And, I am actually taking some of the more tired Christmas decorations to Goodwill (my new best friends). It has actually been kind of fun because the letting go of the same old same has allowed me some newfound creative energy. I even got a real tree again this year ... for the first time in years. It smells sooooo good that it was worth the ridiculous price. Between the tree and the eggnog scented candle, it smells wonderful in here. As soon as I get done decorating, it will be time to finish shopping and wrapping. Then, there are the obligatory sugar cookies. I might be drummed out of the family if these favorites failed to appear. Still, I make one batch close to Christmas as opposed to double batches that disappeared before Christmas Eve and then had to be replaced. In letting go of the mega-super-sized Christmas production, it certainly becomes less stressful and may, in fact, be more enjoyable. I'll probably always want to make my home look beautiful at Christmastime but, its becoming increasingly clear that less can be more at the end of the day. Adapting to change and going with the flow is so much easier than paddling against the tide.