It’s time to take a moment and send a card to a soldier!
My grandson singing cards for soldiers
It’s that time of the year again!! And this is the third year I’ve been involved helping to promote the Holiday Mail For Heroes program sponsored by The American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes. Every year I sit down with my grandson (now 7) and write notes and sign Holiday cards for our soldiers who are deployed or recovering in hospitals like Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
What could be more heartfelt than to receive a hand written heartfelt card from someone who really appreciates what you do. Let’s thank those soldiers!
The program started September 3rd and all cards must be postmarked buy December 10, 2010 so we need to get on this! Do it today!
Spooky stuff you should know about Halloween!
I have always been interested in how things evolve. That includes why are certain holiday traditions observed and coveted. Halloween is no exception. Halloween has become one the the the most popular Holidays in the United States. It is celebrated by children and adults alike and is second only to Christmas in popularity. The current Halloween holiday is a far cry from it’s odd beginnings. Halloween is the result of the combination of several ancient holidays and traditions. I’m sure the candy manufacturers have had a huge hand in current traditions as well!
Halloween, is one of the world’s oldest holidays and is still celebrated in several countries around the globe. The autumn rite is commemorated in the United Kingdom, although with a surprising and distinctive British twist such as the Lighting of the Witches. In Mexico, Latin America, and Spain, All Souls’ Day, the third day of the three-day Hallowmas observance, is the most important part of the celebration for many people. In Ireland and Canada, Halloween, which was once a frightening and superstitious time of year, is celebrated much as it is in the United States, with trick-or-treating, costume parties, and fun for all ages.
The word itself, “Halloween,” actually has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. November 1, “All Hollows Day” (or “All Saints Day”), is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints. But, in the 5th century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31. The holiday was a harvest festival called Samhain (pronounced sow-in), which means “end of summer” or the last day of the Celtic calender.
Trick for Treat
The custom of trick or treating probably has several origins. During Samhain, the Druids believed the dead would play tricks on mankind and cause panic and destruction. They had to be appeased, so country folk would give the Druids food as they visited their homes.
An old Irish peasant practice called for going door to door to collect money, breadcake, cheese, eggs, butter, apples, etc., in preparation for the festival of St. Columb Kill.
Also a ninth-century European custom called souling. On November 2, All Souls Day, early Christians would walk from village to village begging for “soul cakes” made out of square pieces of bread with currants. The more soul cakes the beggars would receive, the more prayers they would promise to say on behalf of the dead relatives of the donors. At the time, it was believed that the dead remained in limbo for a time after death, and that prayer, even by strangers, could expedite a soul’s passage to heaven.
A traditional food eaten on Halloween is barnbrack, a kind of fruitcake that can be bought in stores or baked at home. A muslin-wrapped treat is baked inside the cake that, it is said, can foretell the eater’s future. If a ring is found, it means that the person will soon be wed; a piece of straw means that a prosperous year is on its way.
The TRICK part of “Trick or Treat” has be attributed to Mischief Night. Mischief night or Gate night or Cabbage Night (also known as Devil’s Night, Cabbage Night and Mizzy Night in some areas) is an annual tradition in parts of England, Canada, and the United States; a night when the custom is for people (primarily teenagers and preteens) to take a degree of license to play pranks and do mischief to their neighbors. The most common date for mischief night is November 4th however October 30, the day before Halloween is becoming more popular.
Halloween Masquerade Mask Read more
I Am Thankful My Daughter Is In Prison
Tiffany And Ethan At The Prison
When I tell people my daughter Tiffany is in prison, I normally get an “Oh….I’m so sorry”. I just respond, “Don’t be sorry. It’s OK….I’m thankful Tiff’s in prison.” That usually earns me an odd look.
But it’s true.
I am very thankful for those weekly 100 mile round trips to the prison to sit in a visiting room crowded with inmates, some who have committed truly unthinkable crimes.
I am very thankful for those phone calls from Tiffany that always seem to come when I am busy doing something else or just don’t feel like talking.
I am very thankful for those insane conversations about how bad things are in prison or how weird her “cellee” is.
I am very thankful she was pregnant when she was arrested.
I am very thankful she is in prison so I can now raise my other grandson Keelen.
I am very thankful she got 70 months.
I can hear it now. “Girl…you have lost your freakin’ mind! How can you be thankful for that?”
Well….every week I get see my daughter. I get to hug her and give her a kiss and I get to watch Keelen play games and read stories with his mom.
I get talk to Tiffany almost every night on the phone and Keelen gets to tell his mom about his day.
I get to watch Tiffany grow from a “wannabe” street thug into the amazing woman that I always knew she was with no interest in a life of crime.
I got to watch Tiffany give birth to a healthy baby boy, my second grandchild Ethan and in a selfless act of love give him to an amazing deserving adoptive couple that will raise him to know both his moms.
I know that Keelen is safe and well cared for and gets to have a relationship with both his mom and dad.
It is going to take the full 70 months for Tiffany to break this destructive cycle of drugs and unhealthy men.
Plus the brains behind this crime got 136 months. And if the person he assaulted had died, Tiffany could be doing life!! So…WOO HOO only 70 months!!
There are many many parents with children that were traveling down the same path as Tiffany. And they now have to visit their children in the cemetery. So, yes…I am very thankful Tiffany is in prison.
What are you thankful for?
Happy Thanksgiving
Debbie
