This too shall pass

This is my absolute favorite time of year.
Filled with joy mixed with sad recollections.

The cusp before Thanksgiving,
the birthdays in December, the Holy Season
and well into January. 

Made in the USA

Time to look forward while counting the blessings
of the past.

Where does the time go?
Miss Holly in the foreground.
My beloved mother in the back.  It pains me to share how
much we all still miss her. 
There was so much for her to still teach us.

Still this photo makes me happy.
A moment suspended in time.
Joe is the one with the memory.
He is the deep observer.
Me, I just flutter through life.
Always, the goofy smile plastered on my face.

An enviable disposition some say.
I feel pain, my body never lets me forget physical pain,
but it may be my response to both physical and emotional
pain. 

Happiness is fleeting. Joy, now joy you can sink
into like a comfortable chair.

My closest sibling, my little
girl and my mother.  Count, count and count my blessings.

This year saw me clearing cobwebs from my soul.  Found
me often on my knees because there was no where to go
but to my knees in praise.  This has been a year of
beginnings and endings.

True, some of our despair is of our own making but
some is unwarranted, unwanted and undeserved.

Seek joy in all things.

Vintage jewels give me goose bumps.  

Yesterday, I received a card from my childhood friend.
So sweet to see her familiar handwriting.  Such a treasure,
to savor and then to read out loud to my family.
I have letters dating as far back as 1976 from this same friend.

Sigh.    

Oh yes, my dear readers, I am blessed.

Take Joy!!  -Tasha Tudor