Friday, November 16, 2012

Mixed Blessings

November ushers in a season of celebration with opportunities for family and friends to spend special, memory-making times together.  A season of joy, reunion, laughter, anticipation, appreciation, remembrance and reminiscence.  Those very wonderful elements of the season often bring tender, and sometimes painful,  reminders of those who are absent from the feasts and festivities. We miss the ones who should be filling the empty chairs.  The enjoyment of the celebration is quietly tinged with a sadness and a longing for those we wish were with us. 

The following quote comes from a surprising source.....one of my favorite Christmas movies!  Bob Cratchit,  played by none other than Kermit the Frog, gives us a bit of practical wisdom concerning the inevitable blending of joy and sadness we will experience as we enter this season.

"Life is made up of meetings and partings....that is the way of it."  ~ from The Muppet Christmas Carol