Thanksgiving and Stories

Thanksgiving is the BEST holiday for stories! Friends and family gather around a table and raise a glass, eat turkey, and enjoy the feast. Someone will say something like, “Do you remember when…?” or “When I was little…” Then another person will say, “Last Thanksgiving, we all were…”

Then someone drops the cranberry sauce on the floor and someone announces, “Well, that’ll be a story for next year!” (and it will be!).

Thanksgiving is a celebration of abundance, family, friends, and recognition of the past year: the good, the challenges, the sadness, and the hope for the year to come.

This year my family is a bit ‘up in the air’ about Thanksgiving. We are not sure exactly where we will be, but we know we will be with family (I’ll explain more about that next week.). Wherever we are, we will be celebrating and adding to our family stories. We will rejoice, we will cry, we will remember those who have left this earth, we will cuddle and love the new little ones that have joined our crazy, amazing, annoying, weird, fun filled, dysfunctional, normal (is normal a real thing?) loving and caring clan.

As you celebrate your Thanksgiving with family, friends, neighbors, and even people you don’t like, may I wish you happy stories, joyous memories, and good thoughts for the coming year.

May I also add, YOU are an important part of the story.

Lona

A Happy Celebration

Bryon and Amber got married on Friday. What a lovely California day it was!

The bride was beautiful in a  simple line but oh so elegant gown. The groom was handsome and smiling in a suit and tie. Friends of the bride’s family hosted the wedding at their lovely home. In the front yard, the two took their vows to one another and in the backyard, they celebrated with friends and family. 

Bryon grew up in a family that celebrates with donuts (preference is Dunkin Donuts); in keeping with that tradition he and Amber cut the cake then invited friends and family to get a donut from the donut wall (yes, from Dunkin as is proper)!

It was a sweet, adorable day, one that suited the bride and groom perfectly.

What Happened to the Fall?

Last week I began working on some glove puppets for a fall residency in a preschool. I planned to turn the gloves into autumn trees and needed to make 45 puppets. I’d seen some small fall-looking fabric leaves at the dollar store, and it would be a quick run, so I added the stop to my errand list. To my surprise, when I went into the store this early in the month of November, all of the fall items had already been replaced with Christmas ones!

“What happened to all of the fall stuff?” I asked.

“Oh, we switched out on Halloween,” was the answer I got.

“What? But the fall just started!” I left and ran to another dollar store, just in case they had left over fall foliage, but they didn’t, either. My next thought was Wal-Mart (it was just across the parking lot) – certainly they had not switched out all of their fall items! BUT! They had! All of their fall things, including Thanksgiving decorations (except for Thanksgiving paper plates and napkins) were 75% off and there was nothing left worth having. No colored leaves, just lots different-colored poinsettias… Did you know you can get poinsettias in purple with glitter?

What happened to November? What happened to the moment? What happened to slowly phasing out one holiday into the next? What happened to looking forward to the big dinner at Thanksgiving?  I understand having Christmas craft items and fabrics out early, after all I am a crafter and an artist; if you are going to make stuff for Christmas you need those things early so you can have handmade gifts ready – but changing over the ENTIRE STORE? It made me feel pushed, stressed, and rushed, like they were trying to force me into skipping over Thanksgiving.  

“Do you have any fall foliage left?”  I asked.

“Only what is in the clearance area,” was the answer.

I left the store frustrated and went home, without even finishing my other errands. I took out my colored felt and began cutting out leaves for my glove puppet trees. These would be for the moment, for the fall, for the season we are in right now. One of the reasons I most love storytelling and puppetry is that it takes you to the moment. The storyteller takes you on a journey that phases gently into what is next. Not a rush, not a push but a transition. To be sure, it is good to plan; we all have to plan ahead, but don’t forget about this moment.

Watch the leaves fall, smell the air, have a cup of tea, go listen to a storyteller, and then tell some stories around the dinner table as you gather with family and friends.

Sure enough, Christmas will get here eventually…don’t push it.

Estate Sale Dulcimers

I met my friend Gwen for breakfast a couple of weeks ago. We ate our steel cut oatmeal with fruit and chatted for a while, then began to talk about an estate sale we had both seen online.

“They have a couple of dulcimers I would love to see,” I said. “I’ve always wanted a dulcimer.”

“It looked like a great sale,” Gwen said.

“Want to go, do you have time?” I asked.

“I’ll drive,” she said.

When we arrived, I began to look for the dulcimers. I asked one of the attendants where they were and she said they had already been sold. I was disappointed, but Gwen and I had gotten there late so I certainly understood why they would already be in the hands of another. We walked around the house and each found a few things we could use in our artsy businesses (Gwen is a potter and I am a puppeteer and storyteller.). After about 20 minutes I heard Gwen say my name. I turned to look and there, hidden behind a door, were two beautiful dulcimers. There they were, those two beauties! I took them off the wall and looked them over. The prices were very reasonable. I called another friend, Hope, who plays dulcimers and leads a dulcimer group and was relieved when she answered the phone.

“Hope, I need some help.” I said.

“Are you ok?” She sounded concerned.

“I’m fine,” I said, and went on to tell her about the instruments. “They are signed; they look handmade.”

After further conversation Hope said, “Oh, Lona, they ARE handmade. That is an amazing find! They are both worth the price. They were waiting for your to arrive and take them home!”

After a brief moment I decided to purchase them both. Gwen lovingly carried one for me and I put the other in my arms to carry to the check-out.  

I’ve wanted a dulcimer for over 20 years and now I own two! They are gorgeous and it makes me happy each time I take them out to play! I am still at the point of learning how to play them properly, but this is not all about being proper, it’s about enjoying the opportunity and the journey, and knowing that a new dream can begin at any time and any age in your life.

It’ll be a new story to tell.

Here are pictures of my new ‘babies’. I put a shoe in the top picture for scale. One is curly maple and the other is walnut. 

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What if it rains on Halloween?

Tomorrow is Halloween. Normally, my neighbor and I would both be sitting at the end of our driveways in folding chairs, handing out candy and talking about nothing in particular. I would also have a puppet with me chatting with the kids as they come by. It’s rather entertaining as children and adults look at the puppet, then look back at me and say, “Is it real?” Imaginations are especially active on October 31st.

This year the forecast says there is an 80% chance of rain on Halloween. GASP!! Is there a rain date? I mean, what am I going to do with all of this candy? I suppose I could put it in the freezer and save it for all of the holidays that are coming.

Growing up in a very small town, we had a rain date for Halloween: November 1st. But if it rained on November 1st too, we were out of luck. Families were stuck with buckets of candy and kids were left with costumes that became part of the dress-up box. Since my family lived on the top of a mountain we never had to buy candy to hand out because no one came by saying ‘trick or treat.’ This lack of life experience has left me in the middle of a dilemma and wondering: What does everyone do with their candy when it rains on Halloween?

I just had a thought … I could make Butter Finger pancakes, Nestle Crunch cookies, or put some chopped up Baby Ruth pieces in banana bread.  I don’t know!! You have any ideas?

Tell me your story:

What do YOU do with left over buckets of Halloween candy?