Polar bears and pompoms

I’m not one to wear holiday themed clothing. But  I make an exception every Christmas. I don’t plan it that way ... it just happens.

I don’t take my sweater with the snowflakes and polar bears out of the closet on Christmas eve in preparation for the next morning. In fact, this year I intentionally planned to wear something else. After all, a sweater with big white pompoms on the zipper-pull just isn’t me!

But it happened again today ... when I looked in my closet the draw was too strong to ignore. It felt traitorous even considering any other option. So here I sit, for yet another year, wearing a sparkly sweater with bears donned in Santa hats and decorative wreaths. This outfit isn’t for the fashion faint of heart. I feel a bit ridiculous, yet full of yuletide cheer.

My neighbor gave me this sweater some 15 years ago and a holiday tradition was born. I think I’ve worn it every Christmas since then.

This year I also added something new to my holiday routine. I volunteered. 

My company recruited 700 employees, retirees, family members and friends to prepare and deliver nearly 6,000 meals to homebound seniors in the Detroit area.

My girlfriend and I worked at the Meals on Wheels distribution center on Friday morning and packed cartons of cold food items. About 100 of us stood shoulder to shoulder, singing an occasional Christmas carol as we placed rolls, milk, juice and fruit pies into single-serving size cardboard cartons. 

Separate hot meals were boxed this morning at 6 a.m. by another 100 volunteers, then combined with the cold packs and disbursed to eight churches and community centers in the area. By 8:30, another 500 or so volunteers had picked up their routes and care packages from these sites and started delivery to seniors eager for a  holiday dinner and kind word.

When I told one of my friends about this effort, she shared her own Meals on Wheels memory. Her daughter, now grown, served food for this organization as a service project  in middle school. As she delivered dinner to one elderly gentleman he asked, “So what are you learning about us?” to which she enthusiastically replied, “that you really like chicken lasagna!”  

A wonderful observation for a 12-year-old, but my truth was a little deeper. As I stood packing plasticware in an assembly line of bread to my left and butter to my right ... as  I scanned the packed warehouse bursting with volunteers ... as I thought of all the others who would give up their Christmas morning to help someone in need ... I was reminded that it truly is better to give than to receive. 

They say you make a living by what you get and you make a life by what you give. My small contribution to this effort was just a few hours of time. It was a simple gesture on my part, but if felt right.

Kind of like wearing a sweater with polar bears and pompoms on Christmas morning!

Acknowledge the simple pleasures

I want a promotion. I would love thick, wavy hair. I'd really like a "hot" show horse. I want more closet space!

There are a lot of things I want, but may never get ... at least not anytime soon, but I try not to dwell on them. Instead I choose to focus on some of the simple pleasures in life that make me smile.

I was thinking about that the other morning as I was taking a hot shower. I literally had to force myself to step out of the comfort of the thick steam to begin my day. I just love my morning shower!

It made me think of all the other every-day things I take for granted that bring me joy. I decided to make a list of them as a reminder to appreciate the small stuff as much as the large.

Time with family is what I value most, but I purposefully focused on the little things that brighten my day. Here are just a few of the items I jotted down:

• Indulging on dark chocolate
• Sipping oakey Chardonnay
• Sleeping late on weekends
• Watching my dogs play tug-o-war with their rope toy
• Stretching out on the couch with a new novel
• Thumbing mindlessly through women's magazines
• Watching "Glee" on TV ( yes, I'm a Gleek ... and I like "American Idol," too!)
• Planning a trip
• Talking on the phone with friends
• Gorging on pasta topped with rich, creamy sauce
• Stepping off the treadmill after a good work out
• Finding a great buy at the mall
• Thumbing through old photo albums
• Wandering bookstores

Don’t sit around waiting for “big moments” in your life to make you happy. Instead, think of all the smaller moments that make life enjoyable. 

Believe it or not, Benjamin Franklin, offered up similar advice over a century ago. He wrote: “Happiness consists more in the small conveniences of pleasures that occur every day than in great pieces of good fortune that happen but seldom to a man in the course of his life.” 

What are your simple pleasures? Acknowledge and enjoy them!

Fat pants, spice jello and holiday traditions

I’m wearing my fat pants to work tomorrow. It’s Sunday morning and I’m sitting in front of my computer at home distracted by the waistband of my jeans. It feels a little too binding after a weekend of over-eating ... even with the top button undone.

Yes, I am definitely wearing my fat pants tomorrow -- the ones that are actually a size too big and fall comfortably on my hips with room to spare. Pants like these can be a woman’s best friend -- especially at this time of year.

I haven’t stopped eating since Thanksgiving! 

My binge began with turkey and sausage stuffing and I suspect it won’t end until I’ve downed my last piece of spice cake on Christmas morning. 

In my family, there are a few choice dishes served at every important occasion. Most of them are recipes from my childhood that were favorites of my mom’s and over time became traditions in our household. Now that my mom is gone, they play an even more important role in our celebrations. These days I look forward not only to the smell and flavor of these foods, but the memories of mom that they evoke.  

My mother brought her recipe for popovers from the Netherlands, where she grew up. As kids, we couldn’t get enough of them and still, today, at our dinner table they’re as coveted as gold coins. It’s a simple recipe of flour, milk and eggs that produces delicate, airy rolls with a light crust and hollow inside. Around our dinner table, they are meticulously rationed so everyone gets their fair share.

When I was growing up, each year as Christmas approached, the smell of cinnamon enveloped our house. This signaled that mom was baking batches of her holiday spice cakes. She wrapped them in foil and tied them with bows. Then we delivered them, as a family, to all the special people in our lives. We nibbled on cake Christmas morning as we opened presents and savored what was leftover for dessert that night. I adopted the same routine with my sons when they were young and spice cake is still a part of our holiday rituals.

Orange spiced peach jello is another favorite served at family celebrations.

1. Drain two cans of Harvest Spiced peaches (save the syrup). Place peaches in jello mold. 
2. Add water to syrup to make 3 cups liquid. Add 3 teaspoons white vinegar, 6 cinnamon sticks and 10 cloves. Bring to boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Strain to remove cinnamon sticks and cloves. Add 6-ounce box orange jello to liquid. Stir until  completely dissolved.
4. Pour over peaches and refrigerate until firm. 

My son called from college the other day and asked for the spice jello recipe. He made it for the first time to bring to a holiday feast with his school friends. I love the fact that he’s carrying on the tradition and sharing it with the people closest to him. 

My hope is that he’ll continue to make it for his own special occasions. 

When he does, perhaps something about the taste, the smell or the task will remind him of happy moments with me and make him smile ... in much the same way these holiday recipes conjure up wonderful memories of my mom for me.

It’s nice to know that, at least for one more generation, the legacy of spice jello lives on!