the gift of caring and friendship..

Tonight we are attending a Christmas banquet. It's at our church and we're quite excited about it. We've been commandeered to cook a turkey but other than that, and a short reading our daughter is doing about the carol Silent Night, we're just looking forward to attending. We have invited a few friends and after a busy week of errands, baking, and other preparations for the holiday, it will be a welcome opportunity to socialize.

There were some people we invited that were unable to make it due to other obligations and parties but that's ok. We'll connect another way at some point. There was one family that got taken down by the flu bug just a day or two ago. I sure hope they will be feeling better soon. The flu has been nasty this year.

It's funny how things have changed since I was a little girl. We used to go visiting quite regularly. Often it was with extended family but also the odd friend or neighbour. I've often wondered what happened that this has changed so much. Why do we think we need to be so busy? How did we get our priorities so messed up? I really believe that the world has become so self-focussed that we are losing our ability to communicate effectively with others.

Oh, sure. We can relay messages about business or appointments. We can even make small talk pretty effectively. But what about really connecting with our friends and neighbours. What about really KNOWING them? Do you know the people who live on either side of you? How well? Do you know what their favourite colour is? Do you know their favourite foods or what they care about? Our relationships these days have become so superficial that it is quite sad, really.

What can we do about it? Well, I'm hoping that our family has made a start. We've made a conscious effort to get involved in the lives of those around us. We've begun to talk about things that matter more often. Small talk has it's place, but it can't account for all our interactions. It doesn't take big things to make connections. It just takes showing some interest in someone else's life other than your own. Feel for them in their situations and express that caring.

I was talking with a neighbour a couple days ago whose husband works out of town for a month or so at a time. They have a toddler and she works outside the home so she's a busy lady. As we chatted, I found out that while she's very busy most days she's also been struggling with loneliness and perhaps a bit of weariness while not having her husband around in the evenings. She needed to know that someone cares.

I offered to have coffee with her now and again if we can both manage it. I am also busy most days but sometimes I need that outlet of having someone to talk with, too. And obviously, one person cannot be everything to everyone in their life. However, I CAN be something to someone. I can be a friend to break up the monotony of the days or maybe even to be available now and again if she needs a helping hand with something. After all, little children don't always allow us to get done what we need to when they are small. When you add that to the mix...

Another neighbour had the flu so we decided to make homemade chicken soup that evening for lunch the next day so we could take some over to her and her little family. It might sound like a lot of effort but it really isn't. We have to eat anyway and who doesn't enjoy a nice steaming bowl of chicken soup in the winter? It can be done while doing other things and it can provide for both families at once so really not a lot of extra effort. Those kinds of things say that you care and they warm the hearts of those around you.

Have you ever noticed how grouchy people can get? Even at a time like Christmas, things don't always go right and a simple thing like a smile can go a long way toward making someone's day just that little bit brighter. I would challenge you to begin to be a bright spot in your neighbourhood, your workplace, and even in your own home. Connect with people everyday in some little way and you will regain something important that is being lost these days. Give the gift of caring and friendship that is being seen less and less.

Dee..

Snow!

We got snow. I was really hoping it would hold off for about a week yet but I guess I can't really complain since some friends of mine have had snow for weeks already. I suppose that winter is arrived and we'll be dealing with several months of cold again. Winter in Saskatchewan... I have a love/hate relationship with it. It started when I was a little girl waiting in the cold for the school bus at the end of a half-mile lane. Ugh! These days it's the road conditions that get to me the most. Would I move to a warmer climate to get away from the cold and ice? No. Absolutely not. I love the beauty of winter. You may think I'm nuts because the trees are so bare but the sparkly snow and ice compensate for that. It's just a different beauty than that of summer. I don't even mind the work of shovelling snow now and again. I don't think I'd want to live somewhere that didn't have four distinct seasons. I'm one of those people that needs a certain amount of change in life... so that's one way that I avoid boredom, right? ;)

Dee..

Me..

Now you can see me. I added a photo to my profile. :)

Dee..

same-sex marriage legislation..

I haven't said anything about the whole same-sex issue at all on this blog but I can't really understand why there's controversy any longer on the part of the gay and lesbian community. The Conservative government is posed to put into law a bill to protect churches and halls that don't want to be part of gay or lesbian marriages.

The questions I have to those who don't want these protections put into place are these: Why do you oppose this protection when you have already been granted what you wanted? Why would you even want someone who doesn't agree with your "marriage" to be a part of your wedding? Wouldn't that have the potential to ruin your special day?

Aren't you just looking for a reason to cry discrimination? Isn't the real issue that you want everyone to agree with your chosen lifestyle and behaviour? Aren't you really seeking to enforce approval for yourselves? How is this called tolerance?

Dee..

Blue Skies? Where??

It's really been a dreary month here. We've had very few blue skies and that is sometimes very hard to handle when you are reported to live in the sunniest province in the country.

I feel for those with SAD... actually S.A.D... did you know it affects 2 to 3% of Canadians? That figure surprises me but I guess it has varying degrees. Another 15% of Canadians is said to cope with the "winter blahs" and I think I might actually fit that category. It's along the same lines as S.A.D. but not near as severe. I think I'm in that category because this feeling is not something that hangs on for days and days on end usually. It's often something that comes and goes when we've had dreary days. And knowing that Saskatchewan is the sunniest province in Canada, I'd hate to think what I'd feel if I lived in a province where it's typically cloudy.

On days like today, I can't imagine what it must be like for those who have full blown seasonal affective disorder.

Dee..