He's Fourteen

A Native American grandfather was talking to his grandson about how he felt. He said, 'I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is the vengeful, violent one, the other wolf is the loving, compassionate one.' The grandson asked him, 'Which wolf will win the fight in your heart?' The grandfather answered, 'The one I feed.'

My January grandsons have each celebrated his birthday six days apart (just like always). This year, they were blessed with a trip to Boston and a Celtics Game. Thanks to a loving great-aunt, they were treated to a private box to watch the Celtics lose. (The Celtics' loss was the only bad part.)

They each play on their school teams and a rec team. On the rec team, they are teammates. It was fun to watch them play last Saturday. 

Sam has always preferred the action shots. (He's number 10 btw.) I missed too many so was happy to hand over my iPhone to Laurel. She did a good job capturing three that I hope Sam likes.

Afterward, we went out for supper at a local restaurant where one grand ordered lobster and the other a hot dog. My daughter, whose treat it was, thought it all balanced out. 

Sam's School Picture this year 2019–2020

A father~son comparison

Time has always intrigued me. It went by quickly enough when I was a child, faster still when my children were young, and it's really zipping these days.

Wasn't it just yesterday that Sam was waiting with his dad for the school bus on the first day of school? Sure do love this young man and I admire his athletic ability, too. Mostly, he's becoming a salt of the earth person who is a pleasure to spend time with.

Just as soon as Jakob's school picture becomes available, I'll be back with another installment of where has the time flown?

Speaking of which, where did January go? We were blessed with a mild one, only a few snowstorms, not too many bitter cold days, yet a lot of sickness. Hope everyone stays vertical from here on out.

Thank you for your visit!

Epiphany

Epiphany has several meanings. It can mean this day, January 6, when tradition says that the Wise Men found the Christ Child. It can also mean a revelation or the light turning on. I love talking about epiphany and have done so many times before: 2017, 2014, and 2011. (My favorite might be the 2011 one.) 

 In the days leading up to Christmas 2019, I sat in my chair reminding myself that it would all be over soon. And it was. For some of us this is welcome and for others (including me ツ), it always comes as a disappointment. It was a wonderful Christmas. I hope that yours was as well, though I have already read of challenges over the holidays for some dear blogging friends.

My daughter came last Saturday and packed up the ornaments and hauled them all back upstairs. This was a great blessing. She suggested taking down the tree, but I keep the tree up through Epiphany. Now that it has already become a winter tree, I may keep it up for the remainder of the week. I'll pick on the other child for taking it down and packing it up next weekend. He will be happy about that. Sure he will.

Winter Tree

When it was a Christmas Tree

Judy's Nativity


Judy is John's sister. She is in nursing home care. I decorated her room for Christmas. She always most especially wants a Nativity, but she also had a small tree, a wreath, and a gingerbread house. When I went to visit and gather the Christmas things the day after New Year's, I found them covered with Judy's folded clothing. Apparently, the laundry lady felt it was time for Christmas to be over. 

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I have watched the 1994 version of Little Women a number of times this season. It's a wonderful movie for Christmas time. I also went with Laurel to see the 2019 version and liked it; my daughter loved it. I prefer the 1994 version. There is even an Amazon Prime Little Women series and I have been enjoying that as well.

Apparently, every generation has its own Little Women focusing on the agendas of the times. There were two things that particularly annoyed me about the 2019 version, but I'll spare you. My favorite thing about the current version is the 2019 Laurie. But then what's not to like about the 1994 Laurie?  I still prefer Winona Ryder as Jo and Susan Sarandon as Marmee. And I far prefer Mary Wickes as Aunt March. Beth's death scene is far better in the 1994 version. Of course, it was created out of whole cloth, but this story lends itself to changes and/or "improvements." 

I actually reread Little Women as I wondered how many liberties were taken. You can find that here if you'd like. I found some things that surprised me on both counts...things created by the movie directors and producers and things followed very closely by them as well.


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It's time to move into 2020. The good news is that some things never change. There'll be no reworking of the age old truths. Jesus Christ is the same today, yesterday, and forever. He'll be the same in 2020 as He was in 2019 and 1920. Very comforting thought...