Christmas in August?

 Yep, that’s right!

I’ve got some Christmas in my home. I was tickled pink when my klove app on Roku updated and I found the Christmas music. I have some peppermint sticks in my cabinet from last Christmas that I am contemplating opening up. They were a gift from my neighbors for my daughter and I. I don’t know if you are the same as I am, but Christmas music is okay any month of the year. Usually around June or July, I need a little “Christmas Fix”. We have Christmas music on our media player at work, and during the summer I told some of the students that on July 1st they should wear Christmas socks(I wore mine) or red and green socks or red and white socks. I wore my snowflake socks. I played some Frosty and Rudolph and we got down dancing in that classroom.

Good times my friends…good times.

I love my job. It’s a lot of fun. Even with crazy Covid rolling around we still managed to have a fun, busy, exciting summer with fun activities for learning with the kids. I did car line and cleaning…lots of that. I think that there should be a title for car line teachers and admin. Coffee Bars have BARistas, maybe car line assistants can be CARistas.

What do you think?

Too cheesy?

Maybe so, huh?

Moving on…

Christmas is now 117 days away. I cant’ believe it. All I want this year is a Covid-free, brotherly love-filled, all my kids and grand kids in my home, Christmas-loving bonus, let’s all hug blizzard-style kind of white Christmas. (Did I leave anything out of that list??)

I could use a little Christmas miracle right now.

Everything will be okay. The “old” me(pre-Jesus) would be freaking out about now. I would be having sleepless nights and snapping at everyone around me. Dont’ get me wrong, I have had moments in traffic, or times where the bank account said $1.25 and I needed to pay a utility bill, but I will say in those moments of fear and doubt God still took care of me.

I have this peace though that I know because of those past moments I can say, it’s going to be okay.

My rent will be late by a week, I had to make payment arrangements for my car insurance, and I still have to register that car. Thank you Jesus that I was on the tip-toe edge of the cut-off date for the extension. My registration literally expired on the very last day of the extension dates.

WHEW!

Raise your hand if you can relate.

I do count my blessings. I have a job, a roof over my head. My children and I have our health (with my occasional allergy flare up in the form of a sniffle or watery eyes). I have food in my belly, which to be honest I could afford to miss a couple meals…just a couple though. I have what I like to call a “Pandemic Pouch”. It’s S L O O O O W L Y going away and thankfully it won’t fit a baby kangaroo in it, so that’s promising.

I have been blessed also with some amazing church friends. They are wonderful sisters in Christ that I can turn to and we are all there for one another. We had a game night the other night and I never laughed so hard. I almost wasn’t there, but one of my friends from the group texted me the day of the game night and asked if I would like a ride. With all the mechanical issues I have been having and it shakes at the red lights still, I am so afraid to drive my car in this heat. I figure when we hit the low 90’s/upper 80’s if I stall on the side of the road it will be a little more bearable. Eventually I will find a mechanic who knows what they are doing and they WILL fix my car and all will be well again.

I won’t lie, it’s hard for me to accept help. I am usually the one who wants to help others. I am too stubborn and set in my ways to ask for help. I missed an important class at church last week because I didn’t ask for a ride. My friend, who for now I will call Betty, said she would have given me a ride. But I wouldn’t ask, because yes, hard headed Barbie would rather figure it out on her own and watch life pass by before her very eyes.

That’s called pride ladies (and gentlemen), that is also called a sin and I am working on that part of me. It’s okay to ask for help. It’s okay to be vulnerable. We cry out to Jesus first, then we can cry out or ask help from a friend or family, whether that is our blood family or church family.

Christmas Eve by Trans-Siberian Orchestra is on now. I was waiting for this song. I turned it up. Sorry upstairs neighbor, it’s only 7:50, I promise to turn it down when this is over.

Spiced Chai tea sounds good right now. It’s 8:10. I am trying to get all my ducks in a row as I attempt to make my blog live.

I hope this works.

It will.

Hope to be back soon.

As my dear friend Myrtle use to say, “If the good Lord is willing and the creek don’t rise, I’ll see you tomorrow.”