Tag Archives: New Year’s Eve

A Reason

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Every day, the approaching holiday requires thinking.  It is Advent, and each day of this time we look at the calendar andn receive a piece of chocolate, just for looking at the day, and hopefully, understanding and knowing it.  It is about getting close to the end of the year, when just six days from New Year’s Eve, we celebrate, and, remember the birthday of the most glorious man to be born–Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

It is  not just to have an entire week of holidays, that we celebrate.  It is about a man who found a way to give the gift of life, every single day of his life.  Even if now, we cannot hear his voice, we can, still, have his words remembered and told to us from generation to generation, as all knew, even from the beginnings of time, that he was the One who would make the world a better place to be.  We have history books, and Catechism classes that recount, and retell, and make a real, all of Jesus’ teachings.  And, each day, each birth, there is carried on the glorious ability of Jesus to save and create, at the same time.

So, on Christmas Day, we remember the creation of Jesus, and by association, the creation of a new world–the Christian World.  From the beginning of time till now, we still wish to be as good as he is, finding within ourselves to give gifts, to pass on gifts, from person to person, from family member to family member, and ultimately, to instill in ourselves and our friends and family, the new gifts of life shown to us from Jesus Christ.

Why am I so ardently talking of Jesus?  It is because I come from a background of Christianity.  It was going to school, to Private Catholic Schools, for my entire education that has taught me the value of life, of myself, and of caring.  I am more satisfied with myself, and some would say this is a self-righteous declaration made to justify the validity and worth of a quickly fading Christian World.  It is, and, yet, it is not.  Science and the Scientific Endeavor to discover and create is destroying the old facts of the world, and creating a new world of wealth and power.  Some would say we will one day defeat death and live forever without dying….  But again, that is just a pipe-dream of Science, and, even, of Christians, as well.

So, why not have Science Day, instead of Christmas Day?  Because we value our life, even our life as it exists in bones in the grave.  We are all the same, our DNA 99% of our being, all linked together, and shared in this common ancestry.  We are proud of who we are, of who we will become, and we want to have life, infinitely, forever.  And, this is done through history stories, through science stories, through cultural stories, and through the leadership of the Christian Church.  Am I justified in ranking Religion on par with Government?  No, but it does have almost the same power as the Government, and has just as much reaction from everyone, regardless if it is friendly or not a friendly statement made to the public.  Every nation on earth has a religion, even those who purport to be pure of such subjective leanings.  So, if such a declaration is what defines the modern nation, why is there no such thing as a Science Day?  Science runs on very strict rules of experimentation and mathematical methods of describing the world, and only the most rigorous work ever gets recognition, because, it is what will define the world.  So, where is our respect, to all this work?  It seems almost duplicitous that we have forgotten the wealth of Christianity.  Churches and Cathedrals abound in every nation, even in those who purport to be areligious.  There is a secret code and a secret brotherhood in Christianity, and the following of it, has made it rich, made the world rich, and made the Church rich.  So, does this observation make it necessary that we enshrine Science like Religion has enshrined Jesus and Christians?

I would miss Christmas Day and all the 60 days of Advent before the Day.  I love the richness of having , of feeling, of believing, and of sharing what I can.  The greatest reason to do this, is because of Jesus.  I feel like he does, and I lead, like he does, by example.  This opinion is truly yet another voice in the crowd that gathers to support December 25th.  I gladly throw my voice into the sea, to be part of that humanity, to hopefully live infinitely, forever.

It is apropos, as the Fall season has so many little holidays that just make Autumn fun and memorable, that in going into the stores, I already think of My List…  The Christmas Season List of things I have reason to do, and of things I want to do.  So, happiness comes in red, and gold, and silver, all hung on the evergreen, on the holly, and on the wreath.  I value the richness, and that it feels like the world shares in good faith.  So, just for that one day, we have a reason to live.

Heroes

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My hero for the longest time was Mighty Mouse, and even now, today, I do not hesitate to name him as my hero.  He was strong, could fly, and always saved the damsel in distress.  I remember Mighty Mouse first, even before Popeye, who came on and replaced my Mighty Mouse infatuation.  That is to say with the figure of a real man–a man  with a wife and a family.  He resembled, in some way, Fred Flintstone.  A sort of Fred Flintstone with supernatural power whenever there was a can of spinach.

These heroes have formed my view of men ever since.  Cute, funny, willing. able, trustworthy, dependable, and yet, man enough to command friends and armies and lead them all to success and victory.

As the summer is coming fast this year, I am thinking of giving my husband the duty to take care of our son’s birthday party.  He requested a pool party, and, I don’t see how we can say no–he has been taking swimming lessons for six years now.  So, I think it is the perfect job for my husband, as he will have to find a life guard, and enforce the rule of no eating in the pool even if it is coming from the bar-b-cue off side of the pool.  Everyone will only be allowed on the first floor of the house, and the basement–as there is an extra washroom there.

The day can be any day, because any day in the summer is a free day.  And, of course–party favors.  My son liked the loot bags at all his parties, until suddenly last year he declared loudly that only his sister would need a loot bag after his party.  He forbade me from giving out the party loot at the end.  Alas, my son is growing up!

So, of course, no more stressing over party favors.  In fact he keeps saying no and nixing any suggestions that I have.  Balloons?  No.  New Year’s Eve noise makers and inflatable tongues?  No.  Musical chairs?  NO.  Board games?  No.  Prizes–random prizes?  For like three-legged races?  No.  And no.  So, I said no to 52-pack playing cards.  No casino chips.  Only pop and fruit punch.  And freezies.  And he said he would choose the cake.  So, now, I have a shopping trip too, soon, for this fast-coming summer.

I often tell myself that this is the perfect life.  I am not sure if it is wise of me to think so, and thus behave so–making all my decisions as if everything will continue to be fine, and perfect.  Have I given up, where a hero would look and see a way to save the world?

Then again, if I see no problem, there really may be no problem.  As the saying goes, “Don’t fix what ain’t broke.”

That was the thing about my childhood heroes.  They never actually became heroes until someone or something actually became in distress.  They would then fly in , flex their muscle, and “save the day.”  It seemed that it never occurred to them that they could create a better life.  One that didn’t yet exist, but perhaps would make a better world or a better future.  I think of things like mobile phones, the internet, and minimum wages.  I think of things like music, rap, television movies, sports stadiums and immigration and vacations to foreign countries.  This is the wealth of the world I live in, and I compare it to what I know of the past, even fifty years ago.  Progress, advancement, invention, innovation, dreaming, and hoping.

So, this Father’s Day, I celebrate all the Father’s in my life, as well as all the heroes who have created a better future.