Good Enough

Welcome to 2020!! I have lots I want to accomplish this year, so I am making plans — not resolutions — and I am putting those plans on my calendar. For instance, I have a large storage unit that I want to clear out. I am sitting with my calendar and putting dates on it to make that happen.

One morning while my son Bryon and his wife Amber were visiting, Amber and I had a conversation. She made a wise statement and it went something like this: “If you give 100% to everything then you don’t have anything left to take care of yourself.”  This made me ponder, and I take it as this: “Enough is good enough.” I remembered a quote that Mary Poppins made in the Disney movie: “Enough is as good as a feast”.

Seeking perfection in everything is too much!!  So, with making plans for 2020, I am setting myself to one big clean-out goal — the storage unit — that is enough.

Do you have something you want to accomplish this year that doesn’t need 100%, it just needs to be good enough? What is it?

Christmas Carols

Christmas carols are part of our celebrations during this time of year. Some began as poems while others were never intended to be part of the December festivities. Take, for instance, a tune heard on the radio during this time of year: “We Need A Little Christmas”. This actually was written for the Broadway musical, Mame, by Jerry Herman in 1966. The lead character has lost her money in the 1929 Wall Street crash and needs some happiness well before December 25th.

Here’s a version of the song sung by Lucille Ball in the 1974 movie:

We Need a Little Christmas
by Jerry Herman

Haul out the holly,
Put up the tree before my spirit falls again,
Fill up the stockings,
I may be rushing things, but
Deck the halls again now

For we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute
Candles in the window
Carols at the spinet
Yes we need a little Christmas,
Right this very minute
(It hasn't snowed a single flurry,
But Santa, dear we're in a hurry)

So climb down the chimney,
Turn on the brightest string of lights I've ever seen,
Slice up the fruitcake,
It's time we hung some tinsel,
On that evergreen bough

For I've grown a little leaner,
Grown a little colder,
Grown a little sadder,
Grown a little older,
And I need a little angel,
Sitting on my shoulder,
Need a little Christmas now

For we need a little music,
Need a little laughter,
Need a little singing,
Ringing through the rafters,
And we need a little snappy
"Happy ever after"
We need a little Christmas now

There is a story behind the carols that we sing. Here are a couple of links to some interesting stories about the carols that we sing on this Christmas Day.

• Unusual Stories Behind Your Favorite Christmas Songs

• The Origins of 10 Popular Christmas Carols

I wish for each of you a Joyous and Happy Celebration during this season.  May you have music, laughter, and singing ringing through your home all year and, as the year comes to an end, may you have a Happy Ever After to your 2019 story.

Little Foot has arrived!!

I’m a grandmother!! Little Foot arrived surrounded by excitement from the entire family. Even though we were all scattered  from coast to coast and in different time zones when Little Foot was born, we all rejoiced together.

Steven, Carmen, and I were in the waiting room of the hospital in the wee hours of the morning anticipating the birth of a tiny one. Genette and Abe (our daughter and son-in-law) had decided to keep Little Foot’s name a secret until she was born. Abe kept us informed throughout the night by coming out and updating us every hour while Genette was in labor. Then when baby arrived Abe relied on modern technology: texting.  My phone buzzed: Little Foot had arrived and mother and baby were ok. Still we had no name.

As we were on pause for nearly an hour in the waiting room a notification came across the loud speakers, “Code Blue 4th Floor. Code Blue 4th Floor”. We were on the 4th floor, so my heart sank and I began to pace, I sent a text back to Abe asking if all was ok; he did not reply. I waited. About 15 minutes later Abe came out and said, “Are you ready to meet your granddaughter?” I took a deep breath and calmed myself and prayed for the recipient of that Code Blue.

After some hugs, we all went back to meet our brand new special little being. Genette and the baby were lying in the bed together.  We all ooo-ed and ahhh-ed and then Genette said, “Are you ready for her name?” and of course we all were!

“May I introduce to you Jubilee Elizabeth Dahlby”.

Jubilee. What a gift for Christmas this year. With the ups and downs of the past couple of years we were all ready for a little Jubilee, and that is exactly what we got.

Here are a couple of pictures of little Jubilee.

Waiting for Little Foot

I am in Virginia at my daughter and so- in-law’s house. My daughter is pregnant and expecting her first child and as it is with many first time pregnancies she is overdue. We were all expecting Little Foot (baby’s nickname) to come in November but now for sure she is going to be a December baby.

I have been here for several days to help prepare for the new little one but Steven and Carmen (my husband and our youngest daughter) are still in Charlotte, which is a 4-hour drive from here. We have been talking scenarios with family about when they will be coming up. You know what I mean: all of the ‘what if’s’.

What if Genette goes into labor at 2 am, will you both get on the road then or wait for daylight?

If she doesn’t go into labor until the weekend what will your plan be then?

Are you both coming together?

What if…?

Of course, we have no idea what is really going to happen but this is what life and story are all about: asking ‘What if?’ and waiting to see what happens.

Goose & Gander

My dad used to have a phrase – actually he had a lot of phrases – but one in particular that came to mind today was, “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.” My mother altered the phrase to fit her perspective: “What’s good for the goose is not necessarily good for the gander.” Depending on the situation, I can agree with both of those statements.

Yesterday I went ‘gandering’ (pun intended) through a thrift store and found a couple of items that I could use. Then I scanned through the book section of the thrift store and spotted a 1948 copy of Grandfather Tales by Richard Chase. I was so excited I scooped up that book and paid the $2.00 cost. Richard Chase did research in Appalachia and wrote down the old folktales and legends that were told to him by the people of the mountains, quite a gold mine for this storyteller and puppeteer. 

One might say of the person who donated the book, “they didn’t know what they had,” but I rather think,  “What is no longer good for the goose gets passed along to the gander.”