 This year was different. Typically, on holidays my home is filled with our six children, their partners in life, nine grandchildren, a great grandmother or two, and occasionally friends or other relatives. From 8 to 88 the generations gather. The noise of multiple conversations, laughter, music, and the television blaring the parade and football games, all blur together with the smell of turkey, sweet potatoes, and pie. The dining room table is set with china and flowers for the adults. The kitchen table is set with fun turkeys and colorful placemats for the kids. The house is filled with the magic of a Norman Rockwell painting. Well, maybe not quite that perfect--but close. This year was different. There was the smell of turkey, sweet potatoes, and pie, but the dining room table was a table for two and the kitchen table sat empty. I stressed about it for several weeks. I love holidays. I love the family, the chaos, the gathering in gratitude. It was hard for me to concede that this year would be different. Then my daughter laid it out in four words. “It’s just one meal,” she said. That was about as clear as it gets. It was just one meal. It wasn’t going to be forever. It wasn’t going to be every holiday. It was just one meal. Our family is large, diverse, and live in different areas. This year, some of the grandchildren are in their school’s classroom and some are distance learning from home. This year, some of our children are going to work every day to their office or business, and some have been working from home for months. When we looked at the web of how family members interact with the public it was frightening. Just in our family we would have mixed eight households, nine children that attend different school situations and/or events, fifteen adults that either go out into the work arena, or do grocery shopping, and take children to school or events. There was a lot of interaction going on that would all be brought to the Thanksgiving table. The risk was high. When we listened to the medical suggestions, we all agreed that staying in our own homes this year was the right thing to do. And this year, the right thing mattered. We wanted to protect each other. We cared enough about each other to put that first. It turned out fine. Phone calls were made. Laugher happened over Facetime and Zoom calls. We exchanged photos of brown turkeys and tables of food. We shared in new and different ways the events of our separate holiday. It wasn’t Norman Rockwell, but it was fine. Did we want to be together this year? YES! We needed hugs. We needed closeness. We needed the unity of our family together. But - it was just one meal. It was just one day. We did the right thing. And when Christmas comes, we will do the next right thing. We look forward to future holidays. Because we cared enough to stay safe this year, we have hope that next year we will all be sitting around a table for twenty or more. We have hope that we will all be healthy and happy. It was just one meal, one day – there will be more. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Do the right thing, when the right thing matters.” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
YOUR TURN... Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2020 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.
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 We have all had a year! It is easy to be in a cloud of darkness and despair. It is easy to be confused, uncertain, and angry. It is easy to look only at the negative and believe there is nothing to be grateful for. This year’s holidays may look and feel much different than in years past. Missing traditions and large families around the dinner table may add to the turmoil of emotions many of us feel. During this week of giving thanks, let’s take time to look beyond all that has happened in the past year. Look through the confusion and uncertainty. Look past the unique holiday challenges. Let’s concentrate on what we do have. Let’s concentrate on gratitude. I believe that gratitude is a great healer. A soothing, calming, gentle guide that brings us together to a place of peace. To support you with this, I share this exercise to help us all appreciate the grace of gratitude. THE GRACE OF GRATITUDE During this time of thankfulness I ask that we, together, place our hands over our heart center and recognize how different we are –and yet very much the same. Whatever religion you align with or light that you follow –we can all move together toward a common goal of gratitude. As you hold your hands over your heart center, recognize that whatever our talents, our dreams, our backgrounds, or our life situations we can all join in the grace of gratitude. Be grateful for our individuality and also for our common bond; Be grateful for our families and friends who are with us and those who have gone before us; Be grateful for animals, plants, and all living things that love, nurture and nourish us; Be grateful for our occupations and the impact our work has on others – and ourselves; Be grateful for the beauty that surrounds us created both by nature and by human hands; Be grateful for the smallest of moments and the grandest of experiences; Be grateful for our bodies that carry us through the lessons we are here to learn; Be grateful for our breath and the rhythmic in and out of our life power; Be grateful for the flow of pure love and the spirit of life that runs through us. May our love be strengthened, and our lives be broadened as we move together - in grace - toward a common goal of gratitude. Blessings to us all. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Allow the flow of pure love and the spirit of life that runs through us all to fill you with the Grace of Gratitude.” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
YOUR TURN... Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below. And please feel free to email me at: [email protected]. Thank you! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2013-2020 Pennie Hunt This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt. Feel free to forward and share this post. Please keep the entire message intact, including contact, logo, and copyright information.  Five years ago, my husband retired. Some people fear retirement. They have their entire life interwoven with their job, career, or professional position. They fear the empty space. The quiet. The lack of identity. This is intensified when others ask questions like, “What are you going to do now?” The in-between-the-lines message is – you MUST have a plan; you MUST do something. If you have swirled your entire identity around what you do for work, when you retire, you may find yourself struggling with this loss of identity. I came up with an idea. As fast as you can, why not create a new one! Have new business cards printed with your name and a new title. You may no longer be an Executive Director, a CEO, a realtor or whatever your work title was, but now you can be anything you want to be. Happily Retired ~ Artist ~ Volunteer ~ King of Your World ~ Grandma Practice saying it – “I AM a WRITER!” or “I am Happily Retired!” The new title may feel strange at first, but practice saying it out loud until YOU believe it! Include your address, phone, email, or other information so that people know how to reach you. Hand these new business cards out with pride! After owning his own business for 38 years, it was time for my husband to relax and enjoy life, but I did worry about how he would react. So, on the day the papers were signed, and the business was transferred to new owners, I gave him a gift. A box of new business cards which expressed his new title and included his contact information. He was thrilled to have something to hand people when they asked those questions. It was a new identity and a way of keeping in touch with others. Now, five years later, most people know how to connect with him. The business cards don’t come out as often as they did in the beginning, although the questions continue. “Don’t you get bored?” "What do you do all day?” “How do you spend your time?” He has settled into the greatest response of all. His answer is simple. Thought provoking. Priceless! “I wake up every morning and ask myself, -- what will bring me joy today? -- And then I do that.” When he uses this response, people become quiet. They visualize what that must be like- to wake up every day knowing you can do exactly what you want to do and fill your day with joy. If they are curious my husband will elaborate. Yes, we love to travel and enjoy adventures, but most of the time it isn’t flashy acts of indulging, he explains. He is a lifelong learner, so some days what brings him joy is reading all day. Some days sleeping in, staying up late, or a luxurious afternoon nap brings him joy. Some days a drive to play blackjack brings him joy. Even plowing snow from our property with his tractor brings him a joyful contentment. The days of worrying about profit and loss, about staff showing up for work, about deadlines and sales are over. Now it is the simple things, that there wasn’t time for during those years of productivity, that bring him joy. Maybe it is time for me to create a new business card for him that simply says, “I am a JOY FINDER!” I wonder if it is time for all of us to add a bit of joy finding into our daily lives. A moment here, a lunch break there… you don’t have to wait until you retire to find time to add simple snippets of joy to your life. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie’s Life Lesson: “You create your identity – your job doesn’t. Find your own joy.” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pennie Heart to Heart |
AuthorThere is a certain magic about where I live both physically and spiritually – on the crossroads of Spirit and Brave. Archives
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