CREATIN' AINT EASY, FOLKS




Click on all pix to enlarge.

EARTH PLAN B
In my blog of December 19th, I copied this great “God’s In Box” for your reading pleasure.





At that time, you may recall –(what? You haven’t memorized these masterpieces? Well, that's why i copied it again.) that I mentioned “wouldn’t you really love to know what is in God’s folder “Earth Plan B.doc”? Well, I have some ideas of my own. Too bad I wasn’t around in the beginning to help Her a little with Plan A. I love to decorate. I could have been a big help. So here are some of my ideas…..

GENI’S REMODELING PLAN

First, of course, women would be in charge of the planet from day one. We are much cleaner and things would look a lot better around here after these few billion years. What a colossal mistake that was…putting men in charge! Women are so much stronger than men, too …everyone knows that….do you really think men could go through childbirth – more than once? Well, now that I think of it, I guess that’s why God made women the childbearers in the first place……but then I wonder if God planned on there being six and a half billion people on this flimsy planet….hmmmmm, but it’s probably hard to think that far ahead, after all.

But I digress….women are stronger….and smarter……more compassionate….. more creative…..and most important of all….more peaceful. What was the Creator thinking, putting men with their ego, competitiveness, and aggressive nature in charge!! (Well, I guess some women might qualify here……but let’s skip these finer points, ok?)






Well, back to the beginning. To start with, I would have put wings on humans. Yes, think about it. If we could fly….there would be no need for roads, no cars, no wrecks, no pollution, no wars for oil. No planes – no 9-11. No global warming, no ozone depletion – stick with me here – no noxious emissions from cars or air conditioners. All those wings fluttering would take care of over-heating – hmmmmm, maybe the Creator WAS male, obviously He wasn’t too concerned about hot-flashes…..oooppps, digressing again.

With wings we could get to where we need to go real quick. More time for shopping and visiting with less spent on traveling. No not reaching a hospital in time. No more separation from families. (Well, some daughters-in-law might not think that is too good an idea…..damn, this is harder than I thought it would be…ohno!, did I just cuss? …..losing celestial credibility real fast, here) We could carry our babies with us. No more strapping them backwards in a seat behind us just to keep them safe.

There would be more woods and certainly more flowers if I had been called in as decorating consultant(and not all that land would be paved over for parking lots). It must have been an oversight that there aren’t more flowers. Oh, I know some people love wildflowers, and yes, they are pretty…..but I’d love to see a field of peonies, or a forest of lilac bushes, wouldn’t you?





And I would have created a better way of communicating between humans….and between humans and animals. My dog would love to talk to me, I just know. ..bet yours would too, or your cat. I bet pets would really like to be able to express their love for us more clearly or their dissatisfaction with a particular brand of pet food. Who knows? Maybe they don’t like to be called pets….maybe they hate their names and would prefer Matilda to Muffy. Well, though, a wagging tail and purring are pretty expressive.

I was thinking about mind reading. No more deception, no more lying, no unearned praise, no self-serving flattery. Only truth. That would be nice. Sometimes it is so hard to express your real feelings, your appreciation, your love, what you really want and need. How much better relationships would be if our real feelings could be intuited without words.

Well, perhaps that’s not the best idea (da……darn it, this is much harder than I originally suspected). There would have to be some kind of inner mind-control. Not every thought needs to be known by others. There are some feelings better left unsaid. Clay would never perform publicly again if he knew half of what’s in the minds of some Claymates…..not me, of course….. but some, I’m almost sure…….



Clay Aiken in Angelic mode from his Joyful Noise Christmas 2005 Tour which Skeet and i saw in KC.

And speaking of that performer. I would certainly have created a universal CAappreciation gene. Then everyone would be able to know what it is to be transported by a voice so beautiful and expressive…..football and soccer stadiums would fill to overflowing. We would all fly in ourselves and save all that airfare money. And an extra bonus of the CAgene would be WE wouldn’t have to put up with eye-rolling and snide remarks from those who just “don’t get it”…..just sayin….

Hmmmmmm….now that would eliminate those nasty reviewers, too, wouldn’t it? – curse you EW!! Ohmy! Now this has turned ugly. Very ungodlike….sorry…..but …..
it’s just me, after all, geni


P.S. I definitely would have decorated the sky with more stars and maybe a couple more moons…..and they would each be in different phases, of course.

Remembering

I know the Christmas season really depresses some people, especially those who have recently lost loved ones. Moods seems to come and go. Some years are ok and some…. I’d just as well skip the whole thing. But lately, I’ve come to think of it as a time for remembering those precious times we had together.

I’ve been robbed several times in my life….robbed of companionship. Not of love…that still lives in my heart.

My best friend was killed in a car wreck a few years ago. We had exchanged gifts every Christmas, so I discovered that I could relive our happy times every year when I decorated my tree. I have dozens of ornaments (yes, we were friends a long time) that she made for me. A couple she did in needlepoint and her beautiful china painting is as precious now as it was then (who would do that for me now?) I have several she made in her church crafts group, not to mention the ceramic Christmas napkin holders we did in class together. Eva still lives and always will for me.

My mother also was killed by a car crash. My daughters found a novel way to immortalize her special character….and my mother was a character, believe me. My mother was an Olympic Champion Bargain Shopper. One year a long time ago, she found an irresistible sale on chapstick and every year thereafter for Christmas, we each got a chapstick in with a present. It became the family Christmas joke and we always reminded her not to forget our favorite gift. Well, imagine my surprise when I discovered chapstick the Christmas after she passed. My daughter and dil are keeping her grandmother’s tradition alive, and how I love them for it. (P.S. every Easter my mother always gave me a VERY BIG SOLID CHOCOLATE bunny, even when I was way over 50…)





You know that guy on TV that’s “shopping challenged”. That could have been my husband. He never shopped until the 24th for me. And he knew he better get something just for ME….I bought everyone else’s gifts and my gift was his job. Bless his heart, he always bought me clothes that were a couple of sizes too small. I never had the heart to tell him…..come to think of it, he was just sneaky enough to do that on purpose. I just went and exchanged them or got something I liked better anyway. I’m sure he never noticed the difference….I think the salesclerk made the selections for him just to get him out of the store so she could close on Christmas eve. (I quickly broke him of the habit of buying me household appliances for gifts….I bought him a can opener one year)





I still top my tree with the beautiful hand sewn angel that my son’s long-time girlfriend (also killed by a drunk driver) had special made for me one Christmas. Shanna had ordered it for me that Fall and her mother brought it to me with tears in her eyes that Christmas. We still share wonderful memories of that lovely girl.





Well, I hadn’t meant for this to be so sad….rather, I intended it to be uplifting. Maybe you have to know sadness, to realize the real worth of something. But I hope you don’t have to lose someone in order to appreciate them. Go hug someone you love right this minute. I am.

The real spirit of this season is giving. It doesn’t matter what you give…..but the giving of your time is the most valuable gift of all. Spend time with those you love. I know, you’re busy. We all are. Make the time. There’s only so much of it allotted to each of us….and since we can’t know how much time that is, use it wisely. Spend your time on things that are worthwhile. And in the end….only people are really worth our time….not things. And spend time on yourself, too. There aren’t any roses out there to smell in December, and I don’t recommend smelling poinsettias…..but you get the idea. You are worthwhile, too. Take care of yourself. Someone is counting on you to be there for them.
Listen to some music and enjoy the eye candy.





And, of course, the very reason for this season was a Gift to us from a loving Father. Don’t forget to cherish that Gift with your thanks and praise.


it's just me, geni

Another Holiday Blog! Just a few more days until THE DAY. But you can celebrate any day, anywhere. My family celebrated last weekend. We had a wonderful day and I was so grateful to have them all with me. And when your kids have families of their own….. those days get rarer and rarer.

It doesn’t matter what the exact day is that you celebrate on. What matters in life is family. “Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.”

So my presents to you this day are the beautiful quote above, a song by Clay Aiken, a poem, and something to laugh about - gifts to me from my friends Carol and Nan, my pastor, and just something I LOLed at myself . And those can make any day special, can’t they?

IN DECEMBER DARKNESS BY ANN WEEMS

The whole world waits in December darkness
for a glimpse of the Light of God.
Even those who snarl “Humbug!”
and chase away the carolers
have been seen looking toward the skies.
The one who declared he never would forgive
has forgiven.
And those who left home
have returned,
And even wars are halted,
if briefly.
As the whole world looks starward.

In the December darkness
we peer from our windows
watching for an angel with rainbow wings
to announce the Hope of the World.


Click on the graphic below to read the funny…..and click again in the lower right corner to make it even bigger. I especially liked God’s folders down the right side (doncha really wanna know what's in "Earth-Plan B.doc"?) the baby pix, and look at what’s playing on God’s WMP…..






Have a Merry one.


it's just me, geni