Friday, August 3, 2018
I Thought Of You Today
I thought of you today
Remembering all the sweet things you did
And funny things you use to say
I heard your voice lilting softly
In the morning breeze
And saw the twinkle in your eyes
As the sunlight danced through the trees
They say time heals everything
If you give it a chance
But it can't replace those bear hugs
Or let me have just one more dance
I still miss you dearly
Even though it has been years
I am grateful for all my memories
That bring laughter and sometimes tears
Saturday, December 17, 2016
A Letter To Santa
Hello... please come in. I am a little sad today. My friend Maryanne Webber just gave me a copy of a letter her cousin sent her in her Christmas card this year. Would you like to read it? It might dampen your Christmas spirit.
Dear Santa,
My wish list for Christmas might seem a little strange. I don't want toys, video games or candy. I'm not sure I even know what these things are. All I know is that they are important to my parents.
I would like some time… a minute if you have one… so I can give it to my mommy. When I ask her to help me with my homework and she says, "Ok, just give me a minute." I will have one to give her. If she says she would read me a bedtime story if she only had the time. I would have some to give her and not be so scared at night.
If it is not too much trouble, I would also like a round tuit. I need it for my daddy. I know he really would like to take me fishing or teach me how to ride my bike, but he needs a round tuit first.
I know you are very busy making toys for the other children. I can help you if you want. I have a lot of toys and stuff I never played with. My mommy and daddy give them to me whenever they miss my school plays or can't take me to the park or any other fun stuff. I really don't mind giving them to you. I can always get more toys from my mommy and daddy, but I can't get the time and a round tuit I need to have my parents play with me.
If you can't get these things for me, could you make us poor? My friend Billy is poor and his mommy is always home and bakes cookies for his lunch and goes to his school plays. His daddy taught him to ride his bike. It's an old bike with only one gear, but at least he knows how to ride it. When I get bored with my video games I sometimes look out my bedroom window and see Billy playing tag with his brother and sister. My nanny won't let me go over because she doesn't get paid enough to worry about me getting hurt playing with those noisy little rascals.
Don't worry if you can't get a round tuit or don't have the time, I’m used to it by now. You can still have all my unused toys... give some to Billy. I can watch him play with them from by bedroom window.
Merry Christmas.
Love,
Jamie
Dear Santa,
My wish list for Christmas might seem a little strange. I don't want toys, video games or candy. I'm not sure I even know what these things are. All I know is that they are important to my parents.
I would like some time… a minute if you have one… so I can give it to my mommy. When I ask her to help me with my homework and she says, "Ok, just give me a minute." I will have one to give her. If she says she would read me a bedtime story if she only had the time. I would have some to give her and not be so scared at night.
If it is not too much trouble, I would also like a round tuit. I need it for my daddy. I know he really would like to take me fishing or teach me how to ride my bike, but he needs a round tuit first.
I know you are very busy making toys for the other children. I can help you if you want. I have a lot of toys and stuff I never played with. My mommy and daddy give them to me whenever they miss my school plays or can't take me to the park or any other fun stuff. I really don't mind giving them to you. I can always get more toys from my mommy and daddy, but I can't get the time and a round tuit I need to have my parents play with me.
If you can't get these things for me, could you make us poor? My friend Billy is poor and his mommy is always home and bakes cookies for his lunch and goes to his school plays. His daddy taught him to ride his bike. It's an old bike with only one gear, but at least he knows how to ride it. When I get bored with my video games I sometimes look out my bedroom window and see Billy playing tag with his brother and sister. My nanny won't let me go over because she doesn't get paid enough to worry about me getting hurt playing with those noisy little rascals.
Don't worry if you can't get a round tuit or don't have the time, I’m used to it by now. You can still have all my unused toys... give some to Billy. I can watch him play with them from by bedroom window.
Merry Christmas.
Love,
Jamie
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Pick Your Battles
Dear Bella Nonna,
Please help!
My five-year old twins are driving me crazy. Don’t get me wrong, I love them to pieces,
but everyday feels like a war zone. I
thought the terrible two would end by their third birthday… but things are
getting worse instead of better.
Everything ends
up being a battle… from what to eat to where they are going to sit in the car. My biggest battle is over what they are going
to wear. We are always late getting to
kindergarten, family functions and social events because they want to wear
something totally inappropriate. We go
round and round arguing over what they are going to wear… nothing works.
Battle Fatigued in Baltimore
Dearest Battle Fatigued,
I'm a firm believer in giving children choices in their
lives. It gives them the opportunity to
express their unique sense of self and helps to develop their decision-making
skills. But anyone who has done battle
with a toddler because she wanted to wear her party dress to make mud pies, his cowboy boots to wade in the pond, a new winter coat
to the beach or footy pajamas to Granny's 80th birthday party will agree
that there has to be limits placed on those choices.
To make life simpler and a lot less stressful I gave my guys the bottom drawer of their
dresser to put all their favorite playtime outfits in. On days when we stayed at home with nothing
special going on I allowed my sons to pick out the clothes they wanted to wear
from their bottom drawer. When we were
going out or were having company over, I would pick out two or three outfits of
my choice and let them decide which
one they wanted to wear. If it was an
extra special event I would tell them I need
them to wear this outfit.
The most important thing to do is to talk to (not at) your child.
Explain why some days he/she gets to choose whatever he/she wants to
wear, some days you need to limit the choices and other days you need him/her to cooperate and wear what
you pick out.
My thoughts and prayers for peace are with you.
Bella Nonna
P.S. Here is a little
English lesson I learned from self-help books… the word need implies you require something, it is necessary. The word want
implies you desire something, it is a wish.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
I Love You
Dear
Little One,
I
wish I could be there to give you a big hug.
Even though I am not able to physically be there, I want you to close
your eyes and feel me hugging you.
Love
has no boundaries. I want you to know
wherever I am you can still talk to me ... any time, any place. All you have to do is think of me and I'll be
right there ready to listen ... all you have to do is talk.
Please
know that although you feel lonely and misunderstood by your parents, they
really do love you. Sometimes parents
get caught up in their adult lives and forget how to listen. They spend all their energy trying to give
you all the material things they feel you deserve that they unfortunately
forget to give you the most important thing ... their time.
My
sweet child, it breaks my heart when I think about you feeling so invisible in this
world. I know it often seems as if no
one really cares about how you are feeling or what is happening to you. People today see worry as weakness and so
your parents end up pushing you to succeed.
They want the best for you and worry they won't be able to give it to
you. They don't have all the answers and
worry you might find out and lose respect for them.
Sometimes
parents push you away when you feel you need them the most. It is not because they don't love you, it is
because sometimes your problems remind them of their past. When you are hurting, they see themselves in
your pain. When you are being bullied,
they could be reliving the pain they felt when they were bullied. Maybe they were the bully and seeing the pain
your eyes makes them feel guilty for the pain they caused someone in their
past.
Everybody
shows love in his or her own special way.
Some people can come right out in the open and show it. They aren't embarrassed to give you a hug or
tell you how proud they are of you. Some
people have trouble expressing their feelings, so they do thing for you.
I
have no trouble expressing my feelings or giving my immediate family and close
friends a big hug when they need one, but I feel uncomfortable with everyone
else … so I just bake them some sort of goodie. I guess I got that from my
father.
Let
me tell you about my dear father. When I was little, my father would take us to
fun places like amusement parks, the beach and the movies. He would tell us stories and sometimes he
would play games with us. He would fix
people’s cars and help anybody that needed him without looking for anything in
return. I loved to sit and listen to my
dad when he was chatting with family and friends. His eyes would twinkle as he told jokes and funny
stories. He was a hard worker. He was a good audience when you wanted to
tell a joke or rehearse your part in the school play, but he was very hard to
talk to when it came to expressing feelings. I always felt he was keeping me at
arms length, never letting me get too close to him.
Maybe
it was because his mother died when he was only twelve. I'll never really know,
because he died before I found the courage to ask him. My father’s death left a small hole in my
heart that I feel will never be filled. I can't imagine what it must have been
like for my dad to lose his mother at such a young age.
Sweetheart,
I know it's hard for you to understand this now, but one day you will feel a
lot differently towards your parents ... trust me. When you are all grown up,
maybe with children of your own, you will look back on these days and see your
parents in a different light. When you
hold your baby in your arms you will feel a special connection; a bond that you
have never felt before.
When
times get tough and you feel like no one cares ... remember dear, you are always
in my thoughts and prayers.
I
love you.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Today's Lesson
Hello. How are you this
beautiful day?
I am reading the
Harmony High School newspaper. There is a funny cartoon you might get a
giggle over... here take a look.
Today's
Lesson
You want to go to the school dance.
The school is 10 miles from your house.
You want to ride to the dance with your friends.
Your mother won't let you go with
them because they drive too fast... 60 mph.
She wants your grandmother to
take you. She drives 30 mph.
So, it takes your friends 1
minute to travel 1 mile and your grandmother 2 minutes to
travel 1 mile.
That means it would take your
friends 10 minutes to get you to the dance and your grandmother 20 minutes...
right?
Well, mathematically
speaking that would be correct.
But what will probably happen is;
a police officer will stop your friends for speeding. While he is writing out
their ticket, you and Granny will cruise past them, getting you to the
dance much faster.
Granny will give you a couple of dollars to buy some goodies at the dance.
Your friends will be sitting in the parking lot fighting over who will pay for the ticket which will ruin their whole night...and maybe their friendship!
Granny will give you a couple of dollars to buy some goodies at the dance.
Your friends will be sitting in the parking lot fighting over who will pay for the ticket which will ruin their whole night...and maybe their friendship!
That's why I won't let
your friends drive you to the dance.
Besides, it will keep Granny out of my hair for at least 45 minutes!
Friday, March 30, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Weekly Words Of Wisdom
When talking to someone… Remember to:
STOP… Talking
LOOK… At them
LISTEN… To what they are trying to say
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