Abundance At Our House...After Christmas Thoughts

Riches are not from abundance of worldly goods, but from a contented mind.”

Author...unknown

Well, here I sit wondering what the new year will bring? The government is talking incessantly about the "fiscal cliff." Weather extremes are all over the earth...talk of global warming goes on. People's lives are getting back to some kind of order on the east coast and families in Connecticut are coping. People I know had wonderful Christmases and some haven't celebrated yet,,, because of illness.I know years in the past when I didn't celebrate on the day...I was heart broken, but soon found, as I aged, that Christmas can be anytime. It's the love in our hearts that makes the day. 

The gifts have been opened for most of us...trying to find room in our bulging drawers, cupboards, and closets for yet more stuff. I know here, in our home,  we have an abundance of coats. I remember when I had one coat...and it was worn for school and Sunday as well. A woolly, itchy coat with the tight,hated, leggings. Having had polio as a tiny girl...my parents kept me warm...I wore snow pants till 5th grade. I once hid them in a bush on the way to school and collected them on the way home. Brrrr is all I will say. Those snow pants and sturdy shoes were the bane of existence in my young life.I am my Mom...that's all I will have to say to explain this. My youngest had asthma and was sick many times in the cold weather. John will tell you that he looked like the Michelin Man...trying to keep up with the kids in the neighborhood. Bundled to his chin. Why didn't I remember those days in the past for me?Today our closets hold...dress coats...long and short, coats to wear shopping, lighter weight coats, heavy coats, Arctic parkas, leather coats and jackets, ski jackets, and those coats with buttons missing, seams popping, threads raveling, hems out favorites that have served us well through the years...ones that we just can't part with. I, for one, am going through my coats and jackets and will take the good ones to a local charity. Surely my closet can give a coat or two  up so that someone needy can have a warm coat.

Joe complaining yesterday..."Why are these pots and pans in such a crowded mess?" Maybe because after just getting yet more appliances and gadgets for the kitchen...there is no room. The cupboards are full to capacity and the counter tops are crowded. We each have our favorites, because there are two of us working in the kitchen. Just like the two coffee makers on the counter...we each have one we like.

The refrigerator is the same...oh don't take me there...the meat and cheese drawer...for instance!

And now we come to our weight. We both have an excess of weight. Mine is not so bad. I'm going to say "we" both have to slim down. Our dining room table is groaning after the meals and containers of cookies that have been consumed in the past few weeks.. The cookies are in easy to open containers...we just go by and pop one in our mouths. There's candy there too...my favorite. Why do I do this each year? Neither of us needs the extra sugar in our diet....but it's so good. I like to give sweets as treats to friends and family. We had an abundance of sweets at both celebrations. Wouldn't one dessert be enough? Joe and I have pledged to lose our excess weight this year. That will mean going back to the Mediterranean diet that we started a few months ago. It's not really a diet, but a lifestyle. Smaller amounts of meats, lots of fresh fruits and veggies. So, here we go into the New Year. We might not be quite as happy as we were , but we will be lighter and in better shape. We are ready for anything...even the fiscal cliff...We are ready to climb that mountain. And unlike those in Washington...we will work hard to reach our goal. 

Balisha