hope you all had a good holiday

[icbeauty]

i know this time of year is tough for us, and i hope everyone had a good holiday. i was so sad that there wasn't anything under my tree last year and again this year (was divorced in 2007 after 14 years of marriage). but someone sent a package to me (anonymously) that had some treats in it for me and my pets. it was fun to actually have a gift to open on christmas morning. :)

i've learned that it helps me to do things for others on holidays like this. on christmas eve, i went to a nursing home and painted fingernails for the little ladies. i met a childless widow who is 100 years old, and we talked for about 2 hours! she was so neat. i'm going back next weekend to see her again, actually. and it was nice to make some memories that are for me. ones that i can look back on and remember without pain. all my old memories of christmas (well, for the past 14 years), are ones of my ex, and it's so hard to think about it. so i'm making new traditions and new memories. even though i'm dating again, i've learned to make memories just for myself. and that's helping.

if you're having a rough time with the new year coming up, try making a new memory. it might help. it certainly lifted my spirits. and i think it lifted some little old ladies' spirits too. :)

[amaranthe]

Dear Holly,

I love what you did over the holidays! I think that is one of the nicest things I have read. I am sure it will be a wonderful memory for them as well as for you.

I started visiting nursing homes a few years ago, (though I havent been in several months and need to start going again.) Anyway, it is kind of funny b/c when I started going, I truly thought I was doing it to help them, but as it turns out, I think it helped me even more! Like you, I'd bring nail polish and do their nails. I also brought lotion and gave them massages. I'd also bring them treats from the store where everything is one dollar. I also met a guy there from a local church who was going thru the halls singing, and it really lit up there faces. Then, like the Pied Piper, they'd all follow him to a meeting room for a sing along. Since I sing pretty well, I joined in, and you'd have thought I was Faith Hill or something, the way they reacted! LOL! It really lifted my spirits to see how much I lifted theirs, and it was a blast! (I will warn ya though, ya gotta watch those old men! I'm a hugger by nature, and was hugging everyone, old men included. Well, little did I realize that some of those old geezers are looking to squeeze more than your back! :tsk: So, ya better watch em!)

But, I wish you lived near me and I wish I'd known you were on your own for Christmas this year. I would love to have had you over to my house for the holidays.

Anyway, I hope that your new year is a great one, and the best one yet! You are obviously a wonderful and thoughtful person and hopefully you will meet someone as lovely as you are!

Kind regards,
Amaranthe

[icbeauty]

thanks so much for the reply. i did still have something to do on christmas day. my boyfriend (it's so weird saying that, lol) and i went to my aunt's house for dinner. it was neat to see my cousins again and to play with all their kiddos. my boyfriend doesn't exchange gifts for holidays or birthdays. he does recognize them, but he doesn't do gifts. i think he's secretly anti-materialism or something. he won't admit it though. but for special occassions, he always sends flowers, which is nice because they are beautiful, and i don't have to dust them. ;)

thank you for sharing your experiences at the nursing homes with me. when my mema was a resident at this particular home, i would go every time i could and paint her nails. we'd done it my whole life and when she moved in, i didn't see why i couldn't keep doing it. but she passed away 10 years ago this month, and i never wanted to go back. this year, though, i thought of all the things people do for little kids at christmas and gave toys to toys for tots, but i started thinking of the other end of the spectrum. those older people have no one really thinking of them. their families don't even visit. even the ones with children don't get visited often at all. so i figured why not do something for them? and i want to start doing it at least once a month. i think it would be better than just once a year. after all, they're not going to be around forever. and they are such neat people. christine (the 100-yr-old) was so sharp. she had a lot to say about politics (she keeps up with stuff) and the homeless and so many things. she told me things about the city where we live, and i went out this week to look for the stuff to see if it was real. and it was. that was so neat.

anyway, have a beautiful new year. and start some beautiful traditions for yourself too. :)

[dg2901]

Holly---you will certainly be rewarded for your kindness, my friend!

Happy Holidays to you!
:)
Diana