Saturday 19 December 2009

Soundless Saturday No. 60

60 comments:

angela recada said...

So very true.

I hope you had some rest, and some relief from your pain and distress, dear one.

The comments on your post from yesterday were some of the most beautiful words I've ever read. You bring out the best in us all, dear friend.

Love and hugs,
xoxoxo
Angela

Annie said...

This is funny and sad.
Love you and hope you have a break from the bats. xoxo

yoborobo said...

Renee - I have to say I laughed out loud at this, even though it is sad. Guilty as charged! Although we don't go too crazy, there are definitely presents under the tree for all. We try to assuage our guilt by donating to charities, but honestly, we spend more on ourselves than we give. Something to think about on this cold and snowy day, in my warm house, with plenty of food, wearing my nice clothes while Christmas carols play softly in the background. Thanks for the kick in the butt. Love you, Renee! xoxoxoxoxox Pam

Silver said...

I totally agree! We should recycle gifts from previous years... hehehe!

Arija said...

Ahthat lovely time of year when the pennies of the poor are drawn out of their pockets to add to the piles of money of the rich.
Whatever happered to home made presents?

Renee dear, I would love to give you some of my poundage as it is befuddling my brain and storing extra water that turns me into a cry baby at the drop of a hat.

Luv ya kiddo.

Deborah said...

Oh Renee, you so silly! Cute though. Our soldier boy arrived home safe and sound. I gave him a gigantic hug for you. **blows merry kisses** Deb

studio lolo said...

I see you're still trying to maintain a sense of humor in spite of how you're feeling.

Sarcasm is a good sign ;)

love you~
xoxo

Nina said...

Ah but only if we let it! May the Simple Peace, Love, Joy and Hope of the Season Fill your hearts to overflowing. And May you and yours be eternally Blessed. Love and Light, Nina P

Diva Kreszl said...

Sweet Renee, that you manage to post when you are feeling so poorly is amazing! I pray that you have a better week and that God's healing is felt soon!

Elizabeth said...

Fantastic. I love it.

Meghann said...

Damn right! "we wish you a bankrupt Christmas and a debt-ridden New Year! (but look at all the useless crap you'll have!!)"
That's why everything from me is either handmade or a donation to charity. Take THAT big box bastards!
...okay, rant done.
Hugs and prayers my dear,
Meg

Eleonora Baldwin said...

I fell off my chair laughing, Renee.

Then the bitterness of the message's truth hits and you suddenly see why it's not Christmas in our hearts anymore.

It saddens me because my son deserves all the excitement, the anticipation, the sparkly cheer. But not of getting gifts!

I remember as a child it was all about family, tradition, the nativity scene, glorious food and quiet contemplation of the past year's triumphs and declines. I LOVED CHRISTMAS, damn it! And now...

How are you feeling today, and did you get any rest last night? Manage to drink something?
I'm praying.

Lola xx

Marion said...

So true, Renee! Every year (after I tally up the cash damage done) I tell Ray that we should have taken the money and taken a cruise instead of blowing it on everyone else! Maybe next year. (Tee-Hee, right!) I love you, dearest Renee, and hope you have a good weekend. Blessings, pal-of-mine!!!

Rosaria Williams said...

Some of us know better.
Love to you, dear Renee.
I've put in for a miracle.
And I still believe.......

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Yes, Merry $mas! Happy Cashmas, too!

Anonymous said...

It's sad how commerical the holidays have become. When it's all said and done, I still love the special times with family, friends and food. That's what I remember most.

Kelly Kilmer said...

I burst out laughing at this. Sadly, it's so true.

Hubby and I are making gifts for each other this year. No store bought. Tristan will get store bought (Legos). I just want the quiet time to work in my journal and reflect...

Manon said...

Oh... don't get me started today!! It's hard for anyone to get into the spirit when these stores start parading out the Christmas trees soooo early in their stores. I long for what Christmas used to be and not about buying gifts that really mean nothing.
I agree with Nina.... *simple, love, joy and peace* .... yes.... that's what it's all about.

Sending you my prayers Renee!

love,
manon
xo

Silke Powers said...

Love it!! I choose not to participate in the capitalism of Christmas and so am enjoying the peace and joy of the season - and lots of home made cookies! Of course, there is going to be a present or two, but the true gift is being able to celebrate with my sweet honey! Sending you much love and healing!!! Silke

Ces Adorio said...

I disagree. Christmas is a spiritual and/or religious holiday for Christians. Capitalism has nothing to do with it. The people in socialist Venezuela, dictatorial Cuba, banana republic Philippines and even communist Russia and China celebrate it. It is those who remove the spiritual and religious aspect of Christmas and make it secular and therefore not giving it any worthy reason other than materialistic interpretation. It is the very people who have forgotten the meaning of Christmas who are the first to criticise it as materialistic.

yoborobo said...

Love you, Renee. To the moon and back. xoxox Pam

Sniffles and Smiles said...

Oh, Renee...I spotted you over at Angela's...I think I visited you a long time ago...via "God of Another World." I was a pretty new blogger at the time, and overwhelmed by everything...but I have found you again...I read down your page...I am so sorry that you are so sick...I am a breast cancer survivor...my mother died a year ago of breast, ovarian and lung cancers...she lived with me, and I cared for her to the moment she died...and yes, when one is so very,very sick, being alone is unbearable...and so even though there is nothing your loved ones can do when you are that sick, it is comforting to have them near...Oh, I'm in tears just thinking about how sick you must be...I hope you won't mind...but I am going to follow your blog because I want to know how you are, and because, while there is nothing I can do, I want to sit with you...to travel with you...it is such a terrible journey...only for the truly courageous...and that is what YOU are...I have never "met" you...but even so, I feel you are my sister...and I send you love...Janine XO

RNSANE said...

It would be amusing if it weren't so true! I haven't filled anyone's coffers this year with shopping for presents - but that is only because I lost my job of 21 years in Feb and have learned what it is to live on almost $100,000 less a year - I HATE IT.

Anonymous said...

Hi Aunty Renee,

love you very much and hope your feeling better :(

stac

secret agent woman said...

That can be painfully true. I have made a deliberate decision the past several years to not make Christmas about buying. But I still love wacthing the kdis open gifts. Balance, I guess, is what to aim for.

Sarah said...

This is true but there are good things too. It is difficult to avoid the over commercialness of it all though. Adverts that say 'It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas' while promoting buying a laptop for all your loved ones. Hmmm. Supermarket desperate advertising of root vegetables saying 'Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without potatoes' What?!
I hope you got some sleep in the end and feel a little better.
Lots of love, xx

YayaOrchid said...

So true, Renee! I guess we just have to look beyond that, and try to remember 'the reason for the season'.

I'm sorry you've been feeling poorly. I pray there will be better days ahead for you! Have faith and hope.

Barbara said...

Arggh. We were commited to keeping it small this year. But...the baby. THE BAY-BEEE!!
OH, HELP.
:P)

PS. - Is it ironic that my word verification is apo-whine?
Hee-heee.

Chrisy said...

Hello darlin girl, Just read your last post...am so sad that you're having to go through this...I love you dearest...
for you -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtZqJmCYb9k

Lila said...

Hahaha, oh my!
Renee this is very clever :)
Hugs,
Lila xx

Sarah Sullivan said...

Geesh..soooo true.. I struggle with this every year REnee...this year lots of homemade things for everyone!! During the holidays I really want to go stay in a little cabin in the woods for the month and not leave..do old fashioned things with the kids and change the whole idea of what the holidays are about..some day!!
How are ya darlin'? Hug and love, Sarah

mermaid said...

Finally! Someone who is telling the truth about Christmas. I do love the lights, caroling, and warm fuzzy feeling of family and home, but gift giving has gotten way out of control...

A.Smith said...

I long for the days when all we got at Christmas was to visit with family we seldom got to see over the year, staying up late, no presents but the gift of the time together.

I stopped the buying orgy years ago. I told the children one Christmas that I had done Christmas American style ever since I came to this country and I wanted to do it my way the next Christmas. They would get to choose what would happen the year after that.

So, we put up the tree, found all the Santas I collected over the years, made sweets and savories and took off Christmas Eve to serve dinner to the homeless at the Mission. The children were wonderful and it was a very sobering experience for them. The following morning as if on cue, a blanket of snow covered everything and I made hot chocolate, built a fire and read them The Wind in the Willows making up different voices for each character.

We cooked dinner together, played games well into the night and sang by the fireplace, then I surprised them by telling them that the money I had not spent to buy presents was actually donated to the Mission and it paid for a good deal of the food served the night before. They were so happy it would be impossible for me to ever forget that. A week or so later when taking down the Christmas tree I asked them what they wanted to do the next Christmas and for the past 30 years we put aside the money we would spend on unwanted and unneeded things and donated to charity. B.Loved and I have donated almost exclusively to health organizations but also to our favorite cause: KIVA.

I do not criticize anyone for doing Christmas their way if that is indeed their choice. But the shopping and the foolish spending to conform with a Hallmark holiday as we say here, that is simply not for us. Capitalism will go to hell in a handbasket if its health depended upon us, that is for sure.

soulbrush said...

this is the sort of humour we know we get from you even in the midst of the worst pain. today is sunday and today i am praying fo you (not because i am religious, i am not), because i want to. love you so very much renee.

Arija said...

Dearest Renee,
the other day I had no words to say, I could only send you hugs and kisses. You are teaching your family the true essence of love. There has been so much happening to you all that it seems the whole family is on the same path of learning. No, it is not comfortable but whoever promised that the greatest wisdom is learned by waltzing through life.
I too had reached the point where I could take no more, I was full of tubes, in pain and extreme discomfort yet I knew that it is not right to ask the Lord for spacifics as sometimes exceptions are made and they are granted because we beg so. Invariably God's way is the right one and we only work at cross purposes.
All I prayed was :please, please I cannot take any more...over and over and I was whisked out of body for a brief respite and shown that it is not for us to extnguish the eternal light that ends our life on earth. Only God can do that. I have known someone jump off five and six story buildings over and over again and not be allowed to die although each bone in her body was eventually broken and she suffered untold pain. We cannot even commit suicide unless it is sanctioned by the Higher Power.
It hurts me immesurably to know you in such extreme distress yet all I can say is TRUST in GOD. You may have to endure more than is humanly possible in this lifetime but I can see your soul's radiance grow with each laboured breath.
I love you so dearly Renee and pray for what is best for you.

No need to publish this, it was meant just for you not a public display of me caring.

OxO Arija

Mariana Soffer said...

Thank you very much you are a sweet hart darling.
I whish you the best of the best for chrismas and also for the rest of your life
xoxo

A Cuban In London said...

Marvellous. You're a gem. Many thanks for this little Sunday treat.

Greetings from London.

Ruth said...

Perfect.

Art by Darla Kay said...

I'm making quite a few gifts this year. IN fact, this morning...Sunday, I made 3 batches of homemade Irish Cream before 6 am!
Can you say insomniac? haha
Love you bunches!
Darla

kj said...

ah, but it's not that kind of christmas for you this year or for me, dearest friend. this year we know very well what matters and what doesn't, and this year it's all and only about the people we love.

xoxo always,
kj

Debbie said...

True!
I hope you are feeling better today Renee. I keep praying and praying for you!

Ms. Becky said...

I am thinking of you Renee, you are in my heart and I only wish I could hold your hand.

I fly to Your Mercy, Compassionate God, Who alone are good. Although my misery is great and my offenses are many, I trust in Your Mercy because You are the God of Mercy, and it has never been heard of in all ages, nor do Heaven or Earth remember, that a soul trusting in Your Mercy has been disappointed.


Jesus, Friend of a lonely heart, You are my haven.
You are my peace.
You are my salvation.
You are my serenity in moments of struggle and amidst an ocean of doubts.
Amen

Betzie said...

So true but at least it helps the economy! LOL
I'm keeping you in my prayers Renee...and hope you have some relief soon. Tell those bats to GO TO H-E-Double Hockey Sticks!!!!!!!!!!!!! Take care dear...and may you never ever be alone...I wish I could send you one of my sweet Cavaliers to lay beside you...they are the best comforters of all dogs...hugs.

Gberger said...

Isn't that sad? ...but it has become true for a lot of people!

Lori ann said...

renee. i'm praying. my every prayers are for you right now. please god. that's all i can say. please get better renee. i love you.

Sniffles and Smiles said...

Oh, Renee...you are amazing...coming to visit me when you are so sick...I am honored, and humbled...I admired you more than I could ever adequately express!! Sending you love, prayers for physical comfort and much peace ~Janine XO

rochambeau said...

Yes, That is why it is good to make the holidays your own and not what someone else wants for you!
On the other hand, many people depend on the holiday capitalism for their livelihood, when people spend money it gives jobs and money to other people.

Love to you!
Constance

Deborah said...

Lovee, I am leaving for an afternoon of Christmas Merriment and could not go without stopping by to say I LOVE YOU with all of my heart. You have filled an emptiness in my soul and you have changed me. You have done a most excellent job with your Big Work. It's almost Christmas, Lovee. God is very near. **blows ever lasting kisses** Deb

Jos said...

I have come just to sit for a while Renee. I have brought my beads so that we can pray together (and to remind me where we've got too). I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth ..... As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

I hope things are easing for you Renee. xx Jos

Linda Sue said...

Renee, Capitalism rampant and gluttony on the rise! I am sorry you can not get your tummy and swallowing mechanism in order- sucks big time! BUT there is an UP side- all of the christmas sugar and butter going on some body elses hips...mine most likely...Feel better soon ! LOVE YOU.

Flora said...

Renee, I wish you peace and calm through all this chaos. I can't help but wonder and question why this journey was chosen for you?
I pray that it can be a less painful one for you and yours.
blessings,Flora

Delwyn said...

Dear Renee

I send you my thoughts and love and wishes for better health

Delwyn

Angie Muresan said...

Ha! That's a good one!
Thinking of you and hoping you had a restful weekend.
Love, hugs, and kisses.
xoxoxoxo

Unknown said...

LOL...Yep thats truth

Im hugging you bunches and loving you muches.

xoxoxoxxoxo

Im gonna be a Grandma- my adopted daughter Erin is 14 weeks. I have been in the hospital with her for the past few days...Kidney infection gone awry. Infection got in her blood. But she is much better today, she actually was hungry. She been dehydrated, and out of it for 5 days. I was freaking. But she told me today, she miscarried in August. But telling no one till she is out of the woods.

I love you Lovey

xoxoxoxooxxo

Bogey said...

Aren't most truths basically as simple as that sentence. I guess the biggest reality check would be the questions we ask ourselves. It's a sad truth when those companies whosse advertisements on televesion and the like, focus the Christmas Season on their product instead of the meaning of the Season. It kind of makes me wonder with all of this planning, how many people have actually scheduled Christmas Mass into their agenda. Hope you had a quiet weekend Renee.

yoborobo said...

Renee - I'm thinking of you and sending you my love, sweet friend. xox Pam

~Babs said...

Hoping the bats are at bay tonight Renee, and that you sleep peacefully. Picture all your Blogger friends as a huge choir singing the Hallelujah Chorus above your bed. We are there,,,and claiming miracles.

Jos said...

Dropping by today Renee with more prayers and heartfelt wishes. I feel totally helpless and frustrated at the fact that there is nothing I can do ... nothing to ease your pain or fear, but to be here. To watch over you even from afar. And so I am here. Always. xx Jos

Anonymous said...

Dearest Renee, I received your Christmas card and cute tree decoration. Such a lovely suprise, thank you so much! The snow man, oh I gonna keep these forever! The card and trimming has pride of place!

Bless you and hope you are feeling a little better? We all want you well!

Lots of gentle hugs and love!

Julie

Manon said...

Renee...lol.... *the land of Quebec*.... yes... some like to think that it is it's own country....lol! Joyeux Noel mon amie! je t'aime Renee!