My Family

Doesn't being with your family seem more important at this time of the year?

For me, it definitely is because as far back as I can remember the holiday season meant seeing all my relatives and feasting on delicious Italian foods such as home made sausage, cookies and cannolis. My father was a butcher so making the sausage was a holiday tradition that my friends would love to come to. It was special too because he used an antique sausage grinder that had been my grandfather's.

My parents had 9 kids, 13 grand kids and currently, 7 great grand kids with more in the making.
Being Italian, we're so loud that I feel like I have to pass out earplugs to non-family members. But we know how to party and one time when I was just 13, we had a New Year's Eve party that went on for 3 days.

What I love most is that we established traditions, that are now being passed on to the 4th generation!

So how about you? What holiday traditions have you passed on that you would like to make sure your family continues long after your gone?

p.s. - That's only about half of my family in that 2011 Christmas picture.

Merry CHRISTmas

Dear Readers

I awoke this morning and felt compelled to write about putting CHRIST back into CHRISTmas as it seems that most people today yell out "HAPPY HOLIDAYs" to be politically correct. They have forgot the true meaning of Christmas which is "CHRIST's Birthday".

I don't know about you, but frankly, I'm just tired of it! In Denver this year they had the decorations out even before Thanksgiving and then the retailer's create such a mass frenzy with BLACK FRIDAY that I hate how commercialized CHRISTmas has become. It just seems like the retailers are fast forwarding the holidays so that they can ring in more sales early and make their bottom line look good.

Whether you believe the story of the Virgin Birth or not, CHRIST was born andCHRISTmas should be a time of being with your family, forgiving those you feel have hurt you and sharing your blessings with those less fortunate................and let's face it, this year there are many families I'm sure right in your own neighborhood who could use some help.

So I challenge you for the next 2 days to greet everyone you meet with a "Merry CHRISTmas" and let someone else be politically correct!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Aren't you just a little tired of having to weigh your words for fear of being politically incorrect, especially now? I sure am!!

So, as we celebrate this joyful season, let's not forget that it is "Christ's Birthday" and offer a Merry Christmas to all instead of the politically correct "happy holidays". Just think about it ---- there would be nothing to celebrate had Jesus not been born.

I've been blessed with many fun-filled Christmases, but one of my most memorable was Christmas 1988. I had moved to Germany in September, so it would be the first in 40 years that I would be gone from my family. I was lonely, but went to Italy with some friends. They had a live Nativity scene at the tiny village church where we went to midnight Mass. As we entered the church, the crib was empty; but after the service....just like the miracle of Christ's birth....the crib was filled with a newborn.

I wish you all a joyous, safe and healthy Christmas season with your family and friends.

Happy Holidays!

I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Christmas with your family and friends! We had such a great time at my sister Ginny's home. It was just so much fun -- more than 30 people were there. Being Italian, we're all very, very loud; so with that many people we should've passed out ear plugs at the door!

Here's a picture of my mom, Eleanor, on the left of Santa -- she's 83 and had 9 kids. We range in age from 49 to 60 -- so she was always on the go. On the right is my 90 year old aunt who we affectionately call Betty Boop.

There were 4 generations of my family there ranging in age from 5 weeks to 83. I felt a little over the hill when my brother-in-law reminded me that next to my mom and aunt, I was the oldest person there. I just hadn't thought about that, but it was true.

It was a joyous celebration and now I'm looking forward to New Year's Eve!

Nintendo Wii

The Nintendo Wii is still one of the hottest Christmas gifts this year.

I visited with my brother and his wife today. We had a great time this afternoon bowling, playing tennis and skiing (even though I'm in St. Louis).

It's really fun......and something you can do with your grandkids or even your much older parents.

I love to ski and when playing with the skiing video, I actually felt like I was flying down a mountain. It's just so realistic, with the various elements coming into play....riding the chairlift, the wind, snow, moguls, jumps and even dodging other skiers on the mountain.

We even got my 83 year old mom to bowl! At first, she had a hard time with the Wii Remote, but finally got the hang of it and bowled a few lanes.

Nintendo Wii games are becoming very popular in retirement communities and many are even organizing senior Wii tournaments. Check out the YouTube Video of a Wii Sports bowling championship tournament among residents at Erickson senior living communities.

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/03/old-people-wii-bowling-is-awesome-episode-1/

Holiday Parties!

RETIRED?

If so, I bet you're just like me at this time of the year and you miss work -- well, not really work, but all the Christmas Parties and holiday cheer. I love the Christmas Holidays and it was always so much fun at work -- decorating the office, participating in Toys for Tots, cookies and candy everywhere and Secret Santa.

We all had a Secret Santa in our office when I worked in Germany. Our personal Secret Santa would leave a small gift on our desk every day for 1 week. The most fun though was that one employee played the Grinch and she would leave mean gifts on your desk, like a beautiful sweater with big holes cut in it or she gave one of the guys a Sports Illustrated Calendar with clothes drawn on all the models.

A big advantage of being retired is that now I don't worry so much about what happens at a Christmas Party like I did when working. I pretty much behaved at office Christmas parties, because I didn't want to come back from Christmas vacation and be reminded that I had been dancing on someone's desk.

The holiday activities have already started for me. On Saturday I went to a fun Holiday Party hosted by the Rocky Mountain Over the Hill Gang, the local Ski Club for anyone over 50. Then on Sunday afternoon we had a holiday singalong at our Clubhouse. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I can't carry a tune, but I still love to sing the Christmas favorites.

Office Christmas Parties are a national past time and have created many humorous situations. I'm sure many of them are captured in the annual play "Bob's Office Party" http://www.bobsofficeparty.com/ Check it out if you live in Los Angeles!

So, get out during this Holiday Season, socialize and have some fun. If you're looking for a Holiday Party, check out your local Senior Center. I'm sure they have several interesting activities planned for the Holdiays!

Holiday Hassles!

Are you tired already and Christmas is still
3 weeks away?

What with the shopping, decorating, writing Christmas cards and partying, it’s no wonder that by the time Christmas arrives we're worn out! So, here’s a few tips to help you avoid being stressed out during the holiday season:

• Stop Buying Gifts – When I retired 4 years ago I told all my nieces and nephews that the Bank of Aunt Rosie was closed and that there would be no more Christmas gifts from me. They didn’t like it, but since I live on a fixed income, I’d rather give what I feel I can afford for gifts to a person or a charity that really needs it. With money being so tight this year for everyone, I even talked to a few retired friends about skipping the Christmas gift exchange and they were all for it . But, if cutting off your family and friends cold turkey is just too much, then re-gift. Let's face it -- we all do it -- just try to find something that the person could actually use. Or offer something even more precious --the gift of your time – perhaps run errands for a house-bound friend or make a meal for them.
• Decide what’s really important to you - Accept your limitations and recognize that even if you’re retired, you only have so much time. List everything that you need and want to do for the holidays and then pick the 5 activities that mean the most to you. This year I decided that I didn’t want to spend time decorating my home as I’m going to St. Louis for 2 weeks. But I love to stay in touch with my family and friends, so I’m sending out over 100 cards.
• Avoid negative people - While that’s more difficult to do at a family Christmas party, just say “Hello” and then immediately move on to another family member or sit in another part of the house. Remember that it takes 2 to argue, so just refuse to engage with the argumentative person. Or if you feel that the Christmas Day party will be unbearable, then visit those family members you like either on Christmas Eve or the day after the holiday. I know how bad it can get as I come from a large family and our holiday parties always have at least 25 to 30 people there. It got to the point that there would be at least one argument at every party, so my sister had a great idea to keep the conversations moving in a more positive manner by asking each person to describe their favorite childhood memories of Christmas.
  
  No matter how you decide to spend your time and money during the Holiday Season, just make sure it’s doing what you really want and that alone will keep your stress down.