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Last night's story, "Simple and Sweet" featured little Carla and her Aunt Erna (my Sis and Auntie), both of whom taught me the lesson that you don't need to be a Mother to give motherly love. My eldest sister Carla is 12 years older than me, so for the early years of my life was indeed like a second Mom. I remember that it was she that took me to school on the first day as Mom was working. I was so proud when all the kids asked me if that was my Mom and commented about how young and pretty she was, and still is!
Carla, or "La La" when I was little, instilled the love of baking in me and I remember riding my bike over to her house to bake cookies together. Once she became a Mother herself, she always hung cookies on her tree for my nephew and niece, as well as stringing popcorn and cranberries for garland. She made every Christmas for them not only "Simple and Sweet" but warm and loving too! She has always been an inspiration to me in her role as Mom and now Nana to four little ones.
If that were not enough, I was blessed with the love of my dear Aunt Erna, who was also like a second Mom to us kids. Erna brought a practicality to our lives and taught us that there was always a way to "get the job done" through innovation and a wee bit of stubbornness. She taught us to find the joy in the simplest of things, be it an afternoon of crafting, a game of Yahtzee or discussing the family history, of which she was a master. She was the ultimate story teller and always found the funny side in life. There was nothing like sharing a good laugh with her over a good joke and see the tears stream down her face in joy! Whenever she encountered something challenging, including her final battle with cancer, she would say, "Such crazy business."
Auntie Erna, along with my Dad and brother worked in a wholesale book company that distributed paperbacks and magazines. As such, she always had a full shelf in her basement of coloring books and paper doll books that we could choose from when we went to visit. The love of reading and books was already ingrained in us at home, but she reinforced to us that reading mattered. "The Shining Star Collection" would never have been published without her as the gift she bestowed on me in her will, as one of her nine nieces. allowed me to do this.
She also loved to dress up and was always the one to take us out Trick or Treating. Her closet was never off limits to us when we wanted to play dress up which taught us kids to never take ourselves too seriously. "Accessorizing" was an art with her as she was never in public without a string of beads and lipstick on. In fact, we had everyone choose some of her beads to wear at her funeral, as well as handing everyone packs of Wrigley's Spearmint gum which she always carried in one of her fabulous handbags. We miss her in our lives so incredibly much but know she is smiling down from above with bright red lipstick and a string of beads on!
So, who better than these two characters to teach the lesson of accessorizing a tree with the simplest of means than these two women that taught me you can bestow motherly love on anyone?
When I wrote the story, the realities of rebuilding ones life after a major flood was of course on the top of everyone's mind with the devastating flood of 2013. My niece Madeline, who had to move in with us for a month along with her parents and sister after their home was flooded, came up with the line, "We've been disaster-ed." Sadly, two and a half years later, some people are still not back in their homes as they, along with business owners, still try to collect from disaster relief programs and insurance companies. They have been a shining example that Christmas is not about glitz and glitter but rather loving each other and helping out a neighbor while sharing the joy of the season. A lesson we all might do well to remember especially with so many of us adversely affected by the falling economy. Keep it simple folks and it will be sweet!
Shine on!
-K
Carla, or "La La" when I was little, instilled the love of baking in me and I remember riding my bike over to her house to bake cookies together. Once she became a Mother herself, she always hung cookies on her tree for my nephew and niece, as well as stringing popcorn and cranberries for garland. She made every Christmas for them not only "Simple and Sweet" but warm and loving too! She has always been an inspiration to me in her role as Mom and now Nana to four little ones.
If that were not enough, I was blessed with the love of my dear Aunt Erna, who was also like a second Mom to us kids. Erna brought a practicality to our lives and taught us that there was always a way to "get the job done" through innovation and a wee bit of stubbornness. She taught us to find the joy in the simplest of things, be it an afternoon of crafting, a game of Yahtzee or discussing the family history, of which she was a master. She was the ultimate story teller and always found the funny side in life. There was nothing like sharing a good laugh with her over a good joke and see the tears stream down her face in joy! Whenever she encountered something challenging, including her final battle with cancer, she would say, "Such crazy business."
Auntie Erna, along with my Dad and brother worked in a wholesale book company that distributed paperbacks and magazines. As such, she always had a full shelf in her basement of coloring books and paper doll books that we could choose from when we went to visit. The love of reading and books was already ingrained in us at home, but she reinforced to us that reading mattered. "The Shining Star Collection" would never have been published without her as the gift she bestowed on me in her will, as one of her nine nieces. allowed me to do this.
She also loved to dress up and was always the one to take us out Trick or Treating. Her closet was never off limits to us when we wanted to play dress up which taught us kids to never take ourselves too seriously. "Accessorizing" was an art with her as she was never in public without a string of beads and lipstick on. In fact, we had everyone choose some of her beads to wear at her funeral, as well as handing everyone packs of Wrigley's Spearmint gum which she always carried in one of her fabulous handbags. We miss her in our lives so incredibly much but know she is smiling down from above with bright red lipstick and a string of beads on!
So, who better than these two characters to teach the lesson of accessorizing a tree with the simplest of means than these two women that taught me you can bestow motherly love on anyone?
When I wrote the story, the realities of rebuilding ones life after a major flood was of course on the top of everyone's mind with the devastating flood of 2013. My niece Madeline, who had to move in with us for a month along with her parents and sister after their home was flooded, came up with the line, "We've been disaster-ed." Sadly, two and a half years later, some people are still not back in their homes as they, along with business owners, still try to collect from disaster relief programs and insurance companies. They have been a shining example that Christmas is not about glitz and glitter but rather loving each other and helping out a neighbor while sharing the joy of the season. A lesson we all might do well to remember especially with so many of us adversely affected by the falling economy. Keep it simple folks and it will be sweet!
Shine on!
-K