Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Five Minutes

It takes five minutes…

to brew coffee in the French press.
to pick up my daughter from school.
to walk from my office to the library.
to send an email to a friend.
to write a card to someone.
to say goodnight to my kids.
to organize my backpack for the next day.
to set the table.
to read a blog post.

It took only five minutes
for a young man
to kill 26 people,
most of them children.
What does that say about our world?

I choose to focus on the five minutes...
that it takes to love those close to me.
to tell my kids that they are special.
to reach out to others with my heart
and soul.
and to pray that this madness ends. 

Sunday, December 9, 2012

What if he were here now?

Today marks three years since my Dad's death.  He'd be 92, almost 93, if he were here with us now.  And this year, I wonder--what would he love if he were here now?

My Dad would love:

1) That Obama won a second term (more to the point, he would love that Romney lost).

2) All the new great grandchildren coming his way, especially those girls.

3) Lecturing everyone over what should happen regarding the fiscal cliff.

4) Being with his family in the holiday season.  If he were still able to, he'd be making seafood chowder for everyone on Christmas eve.

5) Reading, watching TV, and napping in his big comfy chair.

6) Complaining about how everyone today has too many fancy electronic devices that they are plugged into all the time.

7) My mother.  As always.

Mostly, Dad was a guy who loved his home and his family, even if he had some mighty strange ways of showing it.  I think he'd be just as interested in politics, just as ready to argue, and just as joyous in small pleasures now as he was years ago.