When The Midnight Bell Rings Tonight...

Hoping you find the beauty in each day's sunrise
and for the gift of today.

Surround yourself with the people you love, whom bring you the most joy.

Never forget who you are and and love yourself unconditionally.

Forgive yourself for your imperfections, as none of us are perfect.

Smile, it's a gift you can give a complete stranger, you never know
how many people you can touch with your smile.

Sing the song that is in your heart and dance, dance dance, for you
are truly beautiful!

Happy New Year!

What Christmas Means To Me...

Christmas has always been very special to me, it's a time to gather with family and friends and share yearly traditions. Each year I love to bake with my granddaughters, decorate our home and exchange gifts with loved ones. For me it has never been about the gifts, it's about creating special memories with my cherished loved ones. Making gingerbread houses with my mom, decorating her whole house, taking her, my children and the grandchildren to see Santa Claus, spending time together with a cup of hot chocolate, crafting with my nieces both when they were young and then as adults, helping them make gifts to give to their friends and families. I love Tree Night when we go house to house to see sister's and brother's homes decorated for Christmas, it's a favorite yearly tradition, but the most precious time for me is Christmas Evening when we gather together at my mom's house to have something to eat and drink, watch the children open gifts from their gram and their aunts and uncles. We all gather in the living room and dining room and sing the "Twelve Days of Christmas", not once, not twice, but usually three times. It's the funniest thing you would ever see but we all love it so much and it makes mom so happy. This year as we gather together it will be a bit different, we won't be at our mom's house we will be at Berkshire Medical Hospital. But the meaning and the spirit of the evening will be the same, we will eat, drink, celebrate, perhaps exchange a gift or two and of course we will sing. We will sing like there is no tomorrow because truly there is no guarantee of a tomorrow, we will laugh, cry and be so thankful that we are together for another Christmas Evening to celebrate with our mom, she is the center of my life and my family’s life, she is the most precious gift I have ever had and that is what I'm going to cherish this year, my "MOM" more than any other year.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and that you are able to spend time with your loved ones as I will this evening.

Merry Christmas, I am also thankful for the gift of you, if you are reading this you are a friend of mine and I love you as much as my family!