It seems like ages since I have written a blog. It's been over a year. I think the Holidays bring out the Nostalgia in all of us, and this is what motivated me to write.
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and I am remembering Christmas Eve's from my youth. The tradition was to go to Nana and Grampy Dougherty's and have a roast beef dinner, with all the fixings. We would eat dinner in the living room with the sound of Bing Crosby in the back round. Every time I hear Bing sing a Christmas classic, it transports me back in time to Lincoln and the warmth of 25 Old Winter Street. After dinner, Grampy would sit in his chair, Nana would pass out the gifts and the family would enjoy a peaceful night, with the possibility of the neighbors coming over to join as well. If I close my eyes I can still see the Charlie Brown Christmas tree with the big lights on it. Grampy always waited till the last trees were left for sale and he and Nana somehow made that tree Shine! I think it was Love that made that tree shine. I am so grateful that for so many years my oldest three children were able to share in that tradition with my Nana and Grampy. I still see Grampy playing his drumsticks, and my son Ryan singing Jingle Bells for them. The Dougherty Christmas Eve is a fond memory for me.
Christmas Day was usually a louder affair at either my Aunt Carol's house, My Uncle Gary's house, our house or Nana Rose's house. We alternated for years. There was always food in abundance and usually it was a boisterous Irish affair. It saddens me that today, My mother is the only living Feeley from my grandparents Rose and Charles Feeley, and those Christmas's of past are now just memories. In my nostalgia, I am hoping that My Aunt Carol, Aunt Gina, Uncle Gary, his son Danny, and my grandparents are all at Peace in Heaven, with nothing but love in their heart for each other and for us, as they smile down on us from heaven.
After I was married, the Holidays got really hectic. By the time we had our first three children, our kids had 4 grandparents and 8 great grandparents. We were truly blessed, but we also made sure that we saw all the grandparents during the 2 day span.
It went something like this:
Christmas eve..dress three little ones, and get to Mass. Go to Nana and Grampy Dougherty's in Lincoln to see great grandparents and Nanny and Papa, eat quickly, sing a few carols and then dress the little ones and head to Bedford to celebrate Christmas Eve with Grandma and Grandpa and Great Gram and Great Grampa and all the Vaudo/Naugler cousins. Drive home in time for Santa, and wake up for the next round.
Christmas morning....open Santa's gifts dress three little ones, and head to wherever Nanny and Papa were, and Nana and Grampy Werner. Visit with all the Dougherty cousins and then head back over to Grandma and Grandpa Nauglers to see Great Grammy and Great Grandpa Bodine. It was a whirlwind.
Whoosh all eight great grandparents and four grandparents....lots of memories, lots of chaos, but most of all truly blessed with lots of Love.
Those years passed, and by the time Mary and Jane came along, we had lost many of our Great Grandparents. We were truly blessed to have Donnie's grandmother with us until last year. We all went into her room on Christmas eve and were able to lovingly wish her a Merry Christmas and a sad farewell. She died three days after Christmas,at 102 years old. But up until that day, she always made Christmas eve with the Vaudo/Naugler clan a memorable occasion (even if I never ate the 7 fishes or lobster sauce)
Now we do Christmas Eve with Donnie's family and Christmas Day with mine.
Christmas is a bittersweet time, and this Christmas, I am blessed to have my parents now happily living in an addition they built onto our home. A new tradition will begin this year and they will come in Christmas morning after our children open their gifts and they will spend Christmas morning with us for hopefully many years to come. Donnie's parents in the last few years have come the week before Christmas and we decorate Christmas cookies together. Another new tradition.
Traditions will change many times in the years to come, but the memories I hold in my heart from Christmas's past will live on in my heart for years to come, and I look forward to the new memories and new traditions. Next year, God willing, my grandson (who will be born in the Spring) will have 4 loving grandparents and 4 great grandparents. So many more Christmas memories to make.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all my family and friends, and no matter how you celebrate, find the time to remember the memories of your loved ones who have passed and of your past Christmas's. Make new memories and may you know, Peace, Joy, and Love this season and always.
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Monday, February 17, 2014
My Park
These last months have been quite the roller coaster ride for me. But I paid the price of admission to get into this Park, and I chose to take this roller coaster ride called life.
At this park, there are many rides to choose from. The first ride I chose, was the Marriage ride, and for the most part this ride has been a blast, with more highs than lows. This ride is one that I am strapped firmly into, and plan on riding it into the sunset, with my ride partner and best friend. My husband Donnie. (We actually lined up to get into this Park at the age of 16, and now 34 years later, we are enjoying all the thrills that this particular roller coaster ride is bringing.
The second ride I chose was called the Motherhood ride. Again, I take this ride with my ride partner Donnie and I guess you could call this a dual roller coaster with two parts "Motherhood and Fatherhood" Its a dual roller coaster that you ride together, but with various twists and turns. The Motherhood side of the roller coaster can reek havoc on your emotions as you take the ride to all its peaks and valleys. The Fatherhood side of the roller coaster is the main support system of the ride, as he shoulders the weight of the structure on his shoulders.
It is a ride we freely chose to ride together, and I am grateful to have my ride partner with me all the way. I found the first few hills easy to handle, but as it turned out, the ride can get really bumpy. At first I thought I could handle all of the rides ups and downs with ease, but I found during the course of the ride, that I was very grateful for the hand that held mine tightly as parts of the ride got very scary. But as scary as this ride can be, it is is also full of thrills, laughter, and constant anticipation as to what is coming around the next bend.
From the first hill called infancy, to the hills called teens, and the hills called adulthood, I would gladly buy a ticket to ride the coaster called Motherhood and Fatherhood, over and over again.
My Park is always open, always changing, and always full of exciting, exhilarating, scary, and ever changing amusement rides. My Life is full and I really like going to the Park and experiencing all it has to offer. I know that in the future there will someday be a "Grandparent Ride", and someday, there will be particular rides that we really won't want to get on. But in this Park called Life, its all about the ups and downs, and we should cherish every ride we are freely willing to take, and enjoy it to its fullest.
At this park, there are many rides to choose from. The first ride I chose, was the Marriage ride, and for the most part this ride has been a blast, with more highs than lows. This ride is one that I am strapped firmly into, and plan on riding it into the sunset, with my ride partner and best friend. My husband Donnie. (We actually lined up to get into this Park at the age of 16, and now 34 years later, we are enjoying all the thrills that this particular roller coaster ride is bringing.
The second ride I chose was called the Motherhood ride. Again, I take this ride with my ride partner Donnie and I guess you could call this a dual roller coaster with two parts "Motherhood and Fatherhood" Its a dual roller coaster that you ride together, but with various twists and turns. The Motherhood side of the roller coaster can reek havoc on your emotions as you take the ride to all its peaks and valleys. The Fatherhood side of the roller coaster is the main support system of the ride, as he shoulders the weight of the structure on his shoulders.
It is a ride we freely chose to ride together, and I am grateful to have my ride partner with me all the way. I found the first few hills easy to handle, but as it turned out, the ride can get really bumpy. At first I thought I could handle all of the rides ups and downs with ease, but I found during the course of the ride, that I was very grateful for the hand that held mine tightly as parts of the ride got very scary. But as scary as this ride can be, it is is also full of thrills, laughter, and constant anticipation as to what is coming around the next bend.
From the first hill called infancy, to the hills called teens, and the hills called adulthood, I would gladly buy a ticket to ride the coaster called Motherhood and Fatherhood, over and over again.
My Park is always open, always changing, and always full of exciting, exhilarating, scary, and ever changing amusement rides. My Life is full and I really like going to the Park and experiencing all it has to offer. I know that in the future there will someday be a "Grandparent Ride", and someday, there will be particular rides that we really won't want to get on. But in this Park called Life, its all about the ups and downs, and we should cherish every ride we are freely willing to take, and enjoy it to its fullest.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
CHANGE
Change is a word, that is easy for some and hard for others. In 2013, our family has experienced a lot of changes, many highs and many lows. It is what we do with these changes (highs and lows) that help us define what direction our lives will take in the year to come.
I welcome 2014, after saying a bittersweet goodbye to Donnie's grandmother at the age of 102. Knowing her and having her in my life and the life of my family, has been a positive and loving experience, so I take my memories of her, and I will carry them forward with a positive light and attitude. The change of not having her here with us in body, will be that I will carry her with me in spirit.
September 15, 2013 was the hardest day and month of all, in the year of 2013. The months that followed were truly some of the hardest months I have ever lived through. I don't share here, what happened in those months, because, I am going to put them behind me, and look forward to the positive changes those months are going to bring to all of the us. We will be stronger, more focused, healthier of body, mind and soul, and we will, all of us (my family) take on 2014 with passion, drive, happiness, and goals that will be accomplished.
Today is January 1, 2014, and Donnie and I just watched our oldest child Danielle, drive off to follow her dreams in LA. This is a change, that left me crying in the driveway. Tears for missing her, tears for being so proud of her, and tears of joy for raising a daughter who is not afraid of Change, but takes it all in stride.
She is taking the drive with her two sisters and they will have an amazing adventure. When the younger two return home, there will be more changes to take on. Mary will be graduating from college and taking on the world as a nurse. Jane will be transferring to a new College, and turning her life around. And the boys who are not on the trip with the girls, are living their own adventures and taking on new changes everyday.
My wish for 2014 is that whatever changes come our way, that Donnie, Kelly, Danielle, Michael, Ryan, Annie, Mary and Jane Naugler, all face those changes and enjoy each day to it's fullest. I think Gram at 102 saw a lot of changes in her life, and two weeks before she passed, I had the chance to sing with her....She was lying in her bed and we sang Que Sera Sera, whatever will be will be, the futures not ours to see, Que Sera Sera....One Day at a Time, One Change at a Time.
I welcome 2014, after saying a bittersweet goodbye to Donnie's grandmother at the age of 102. Knowing her and having her in my life and the life of my family, has been a positive and loving experience, so I take my memories of her, and I will carry them forward with a positive light and attitude. The change of not having her here with us in body, will be that I will carry her with me in spirit.
September 15, 2013 was the hardest day and month of all, in the year of 2013. The months that followed were truly some of the hardest months I have ever lived through. I don't share here, what happened in those months, because, I am going to put them behind me, and look forward to the positive changes those months are going to bring to all of the us. We will be stronger, more focused, healthier of body, mind and soul, and we will, all of us (my family) take on 2014 with passion, drive, happiness, and goals that will be accomplished.
Today is January 1, 2014, and Donnie and I just watched our oldest child Danielle, drive off to follow her dreams in LA. This is a change, that left me crying in the driveway. Tears for missing her, tears for being so proud of her, and tears of joy for raising a daughter who is not afraid of Change, but takes it all in stride.
She is taking the drive with her two sisters and they will have an amazing adventure. When the younger two return home, there will be more changes to take on. Mary will be graduating from college and taking on the world as a nurse. Jane will be transferring to a new College, and turning her life around. And the boys who are not on the trip with the girls, are living their own adventures and taking on new changes everyday.
My wish for 2014 is that whatever changes come our way, that Donnie, Kelly, Danielle, Michael, Ryan, Annie, Mary and Jane Naugler, all face those changes and enjoy each day to it's fullest. I think Gram at 102 saw a lot of changes in her life, and two weeks before she passed, I had the chance to sing with her....She was lying in her bed and we sang Que Sera Sera, whatever will be will be, the futures not ours to see, Que Sera Sera....One Day at a Time, One Change at a Time.
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