The Gift

After answering email after email about my conspiracy blog, I was exhausted. I have never experienced such a reaction to a blog before and don't get me wrong, I appreciate all the emails and follow up responses (for some of you out there ... all 10 of your responses). Shortly after getting through all those, I began to feel a bit murky and realized with the shudder of a cool chill that the flu was fast upon me.

I love my husband's job but sometimes, I really wish he could not bring us home gifts of the plague. Lol. I am the one who never gets to take that time out to just "be sick." I am here and there and doing for those two all the while, trying to keep everything sanitized and washing everything in sight as far as the laundry goes. I am complaining because this is the same husband who then wonders why in the world it would take me twice as long to recover as he and my son do. Lol.

Now for the blessing, they say the timing is never good when getting sick, but this time…it was right on time. Christmas is next week and our very favorite part of Christmas is not about the gifts or the aesthetics of the season. Our best part, in fact, our Christmas, is the gift of having all five of our children together at once. As anyone with a blended family with custody, visitation and schedules know, there are really only two times a year you are blessed to have all the kids together. Christmas and summer break from school are ours. So we are all healed up and the last fever broken 24 hrs. almost to the minute of the arrival of our two oldest children.

Feeling wonderful and ready to have our Christmas celebration together is my blessing as well. There is nothing so beautiful as seeing five children laugh and play together. Out of four boys, our daughter is sister, mother and ultimate playmate to them all. She just shines with the boys and they all love her so very much. Our eldest son is the cool one to all the other boys, as they believe he hangs the moon. To the younger boys, our eldest is the wisest, smartest and most talented young man they know. To hear the laughter of delight and the closeness shared among our crew is just the truest gift of all.

We have had an addition of three beautiful cats compliments of the Clay County Humane Society this year and each of them has acclimated to our home and our children so well. My husband is still blessed with gainful employment and this chance to write this blog is just the icing on the cake of life. Although we all know that life has its challenges that barrage us on a daily and even minute-by-minute basis, sometimes the greatest gift we can give ourselves is just sitting back and really looking at what we have versus what we don't or wish we did.

This Christmas, take time to embrace all of life's little joys and sorrows. Be grateful to be given the next day and the next breath. Revel in your challenges and rejoice in your sadness for this life is the wrapping and what we make of it ….THE GIFT.

Merry Christmas to all !!!!

Stay Tuned….

Karen Meister can be contacted at: ksframeofmind@yahoo.com

(please, no more conspiracy stuff. Lol.)