Still Celebrating.
Still Enjoying.
Still in search of Peace.
Still getting in touch with all the Myriad Ways we can feel God With Us!

Deep Breath…

Monday was that unusual Federal Holiday celebrating New Year’s Day because January 1^st was on a Sunday this year,
So it felt like an Extra Day!
It was nice.
Many People chose to take down their Tree and Christmas Decorations, as it may have seemed to them an ideal time to make that happen.
Not to me!
Monday was the Eighth Day of Christmas!
Today is the Eleventh Day of Christmas!

This is time for Love
And Kindness
And Peaceful Reflection.
Time to Enjoy the Decorations
And the Twinkling Lights…
Awareness of the Presence of Angels…

Oh, I know. We’re in a Culture Now in which we get right onto the next thing.
Two Days ago, our New Republican Congress convened with a plan  to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics.

They ultimately backed down…temporarily.
It was their first Act,
Engineered in Secret and in the Dark.
This will be forgotten by the week’s end.
Onto the Next!
…Tragic!

But Christmas — I am not in such a rush to see that gone.
It was a Beautiful Christmas!
I am So Happy that my MOM is still here!
And my Partner and I could be Together!
And there were Friends and Good Times.
As we get into these Latter Days of Christmas — the Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth —
It is Peaceful, Quieter…
One of my Favorite Parts of a Favorite Season.

I also notice that some people see Christmas as a Terrible Thing.
They are not into the aspects of Kindness and Love and God With Us.
I saw a Girl in Grand Central Station during the Holidays — she couldn’t have been more than thirteen or fourteen years old — wearing this Sweater:

I thought of what my Parents would have done to me if I put on a sweater like that when I was her age, and it made me wonder where Parenting has gone.

It’s a Choice, to wear a Sweater like that.
I Choose, instead, time Celebrating with Friends:

And basking in MAMA enjoying her Great GrandBaby:

And a Door that’s decorated:

And a Tree Too Large for the Room:

Jolly Mr. Plumpkin, still Up and Radiant!

I Love Christmas!
And although I know that as I head out today in my Christmas Socks,
People will likely look at me like I’m some kind of lunatic
(and maybe they’re right!),
Don’t Matter!
I Love Christmas and all the things it stands for!
I Love Kindness
And Peace on Earth
And Good Will Toward Everyone!
The Presence of Angels…

When I was Younger,
There was much talk of Keeping Christmas in our Hearts the Whole Year Through.
The last line of CHARLES DICKENS’ Classic A CHRISTMAS CAROL, says of EBENEZER SCROOGE:
“And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!”

And So, the Eleventh Day of Christmas is not the time to cut short what is Possible.
It is the time to get out there and bring forth what we can of Good Spirit —
To Build our Reserves for the Year Ahead…

I shall keep wearing my Christmas Socks, probably through the weekend.
OK, admittedly, I have too many Christmas Socks:

But it’s a Good Day for Kindness.

I have always had a theory about Homeless People:
What if every Homeless Person I See is actually an Angel in Disguise, giving Me the Gift of an Opportunity to Help?
I passed one, as I walked up Madison Avenue on New Year’s Day Morning — the Seventh Day of Christmas!
I reached in my Wallet for a Dollar.
I only had a Five.
I paused. I hesitated. But I decided to subscribe to my own theory and start the New Year Right.
I gave it to him.
He smiled.
I took a few steps, then turned to take a photo of him to share with you here.
This is what came out:

Perhaps my Theory is Correct?
Perhaps the Opportunity to Help One Another is a Great Gift!
Love
Kindness
Peaceful Reflection
And the Presence of Angels…
Happy Eleventh Day of Christmas!

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