Lest We Forget

Dear Friends,

It has been a long times since I have used this, the old fashioned letter format. Because I think this is an art that we are about to lose, I've decided to use it for this post. Computers have made communication so quick, easy and yet, sometimes impersonal. There is something lost in an e-mail that is there in a letter. Trying to explain that is hard for me. The only apparent difference is that words are no longer on paper, they are on a screen. It is very exciting to get a letter in the mail because I know someone has taken the time to sit down, get out their favorite stationary, and take the time to "write" me a letter or even just a note. I love it.

There are many things in our lives that we have lost because of technology that has made our lives so simple. We want everything instantly. Looking back on my youth, I can remember all of us gathering in the kitchen and making several batches of different kinds of cookies at Christmas time. The kitchen would be an absolute mess, we would all have flour all over us, and occasionally, we would burn a batch. Now, making Christmas cookies, for a lot of us, consists of going to the grocery, buying either a roll cookie dough or package of pre-cut cookies. Then, if they are around, we bring the youngins into the kitchen and slice or break apart our cookies, put them in the oven, and eat them all in one sitting because you can only get about 18 decent sized cookies out of one roll.

Now, please don't think that I am belittling anyone who bakes cookies this way. That's my recipe of I don't just go to the store and buy them. However, I do miss the days when there was flour all over the place and tons of cookies waiting to be enjoyed. You could smell them in the house for weeks.

A lot of memories have been flooding my mind recently and the following e-mail has brought to my mind even more completely how many things we can lose in our ever so busy lives. It is so very hard to choose what is important and what is urgent. These choices have also been weighing heavy on my heart and I am finding it harder and harder to find the time to blog as often as I would like.

The relatively few of you who follow my blog have been so faithful and being gone a week has made me feel, inappropriately guilty. Knowing you as I feel I do, I know that you understand and will be there to read this. It may be a week, or even two, before I'm back. Recently I've had to be in some pretty strong antibiotics that have played havoc with my system and are making it even harder for me to accomplish those things that are really important. Please understand that this is not goodbye. It is not my intention to give up blogging all together. It is just to cut WAY back until probably after the first of the year.

This is the e-mail that I spoke of above. Many of you may have seen it but it is worth sharing again. Life is so fleeting and we have to grab every bit of it we can.

Thank you so much for hanging in there with me. As Arnie says, "I'll be back."

With love and prayers,
God Bless,
Mimmy

P.S. For some reason I was not able to put in paragraph indents, etc., so this is not my normal letter format. I guess block will have to do. Oh, well, a letter is a letter.

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER - by Erma Bombeck (written after she found out she was dying from cancer).

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, 'Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.'

There would have been more 'I love you's' More 'I'm sorry's.'

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute.look at it and really see it .. live it and never give it back. STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF!!! Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what Instead, let's cherish the relationships we have with those who do love us.