Deck the Halls!

The holiday season has descended upon us!  Christmas carols are being sung, Christmas parties are in full-swing, cider is being poured by the gallon-full, pants everywhere are feeling the strain of the extra calories and cold weather!  This past weekend was an excellent example of how busy the season gets and that sometimes, just sometimes, even those of us with the best of intentions forget what the season is supposed to be about.  I was halfway through attempting to do my volunteer work, attend several Christmas parties, cook food and deal with a semi-panic stricken moment that my Christmas shopping and Christmas cards had yet to be completed when I had to step back and say a small prayer.  I am so fortunate that I have the ability to help others.  I am so very fortunate that I have friends who think enough of me to invite me to their Christmas celebrations.  I am so very fortunate that I am able to cook food to share with others.  And I am so very fortunate that I have a job to be able to buy gifts and that I am blessed with people that I want to send cards and gifts to.

As we enter the last few days before Christmas, I urge each of us to be thankful for all the things that drive us to the edge during the holidays.... the other crazy shoppers (think about it, at least you can say with some confidence that you aren't the only cat who is doing last-minute shopping), the other crazy drivers (seriously, those other drivers simply validate what you have always known- you are, in fact, an above average driver!), not having enough time to do everything (you are one popular person after all!) wrapping gifts (just remember my mantra this year and the year before to be honest - bags are just as fun!!!), Santa Claus (It takes a man who is seriously comfortable with himself to wear red velvet and fur, after all), and the fact that your pants seem a bit tighter than they did a month ago (How can any sane person pass up on the most yummy food all year - remember, that is what January is for, hitting the gym!).

I hope your Christmas season is wonderful and full of memories and joy!

Until we meet again,
JCP

December 7, 1941 - A date which will live in infamy

Today marks the 70'th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor and various other locations by the Empire of Japan.  Today marks the official entry of the United States into World War II.  This was a war which changed our world like nothing before it, and I daresay nothing since.  Young men from across the country raced to the recruiting stations so that they could help fight, women stepped into the factories to build the weapons that our soldiers needed, the American war machine started churning and every American citizen made sacrifices so that we could stand the line and defend our nation. 

This generation has become known as the greatest generation, a generation willing to sacrifice so much, willing to dedicate themselves to a single moral cause and willing to give their last full measure.  What is so surprising, to me, about this generation is that most of them were raised in poverty, in the most dire financial straights our country has ever seen.  These men and women were not all college graduates, in fact many barely finished formal schooling, but when their country needed them, they stood up and said "we will carry the fight to our enemies, we will protect what is ours".  They did not shirk their duty, they earned honor for themselves and their families.  And then, after they had fought so hard and so long and lost so many of their friends and family on foreign soil, they came home with one mission... to start life. 

Many people I have spoken with who lived through this time will not discuss it, they want no glory and honestly many wish to forget many of the horrors they survived.  I cannot blame them.  While they might not want glory and honors, they will forever have my gratitude and respect.

"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."  Sir Winston Churchill, June 1940

"Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the new world, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old." Sir Winston Churchill, August 1940

"Sure, we want to go home. We want this war over with. The quickest way to get it over with is to go get the bastards who started it. The quicker they are whipped, the quicker we can go home. The shortest way home is through Berlin and Tokyo. And when we get to Berlin, I am personally going to shoot that paper hanging son-of-a-bitch Hitler. Just like I'd shoot a snake!" General George S. Patton addressing to his troops before Operation Overlord - 5th June 1944 

"Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened. He will fight savagely" General Dwight Eisenhower - 6th June 1944

"Among the men who fought on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue." Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz - 16th March 1945

Until We Meet Again,

JCP

Lessons learned..

Yesterday evening I learned that one of the women who I worked with while I lived in Atlanta passed away unexpectedly in her sleep on Saturday.  She was neither old, nor was she in ill health.  It was simply her time.  I was very upset yesterday regarding this.  I remember her from the first day that I started at my former company.  I was fresh-eyed out of college, so very young, and so very new to the workworld and here I go and I am told that she works for me.  I didn't know what to do really, but she took the time to show me around, get me acquainted with where everything was, get me up to speed on the office expectations and etiquette since every office is different.  She took the time over the next few weeks to remind me several times (when I forgot) how to use the copier or the fax machine.  She helped me navigate my way into corporate America.  More importantly than that, she was a friend and an ally when I felt overwhelmed with my new job and the responsibilities it entailed.  She taught me many things about people and circumstances.  And yesterday she taught me her last lesson, life is too short.

Not to preach, but life is very short, this we all know, but I think we often forget that.  We only have a set amount of time to be here.  We should take joy when we find it, deal with sadness as it comes, but we should strive to find that which makes us happy and complete.  We should embrace it and live a life that is full and joyful.  I think, actually, I know, that I often times get bogged down in the "small things", the things that in a month, a year, ten years will not matter.  I need to spend more time doing the things that make me smile, spending more time with those that make me happy and more time loving.

I hope those of you who read this will find what makes you happy and embrace it.  God Bless.

Until We Meet Again,
JCP

Christmas Cards & Love Actually...

One of my dear friends who lives in the same city as I do, Emily, and I have a Christmas tradition.  We started it a few years back and because it was so much fun, we have continued it.  We are both fans of the movie "Love Actually".  Before I go any farther, if you have not had a chance to watch this film, I would highly recommend it.  Some of the actors are Liam Neeson, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton, Bill Nighy, and many many more.  This is one of my all-time favorite movies and I believe it captures the modern-day Christmas spirit fairly well.  Anyway, during the Christmas season, we always get together, have some wine, bring our Christmas Cards and sit down to have a girls night, watch the movie, enjoy a glass of wine and prepare our Christmas cards. 

Well, we did this recently this year, and we had a blast!  It was great catching up after Thanksgiving and seeing what each other had been up to.  As we sat there, watching the movie, addressing cards, we started realizing that this was one of our favorite holiday traditions.  Especially since Christmas cards can oftentimes be tedious work, by doing them together, and enjoying a movie, preparing the Christmas Cards actually became fun. 

I started reflecting at that point about some of my favorite holiday traditions and some of my friends' favorite holiday traditions...  We all have some that are unique to us and some that are unique to our culture.  In the coming weeks, I will comment on some of my favorite traditions and some of my friends' favorite traditions.  But, for now, I am off to enjoy a holiday celebration!

Until We Meet Again,
JCP