On My Mind Today

New Year's resolutions - we all make them. We promise to quit smoking, to eat better and exercise, to lose weight, and many other things that we believe will make us healthier and happier. If we are lucky we at least make an attempt to keep them, but often never even get stared. We take on something we are not ready to tackle and then feel like a failure when we have not followed through. Maybe it is time to be kinder to ourselves. To realize that if we have a few great days where we keep our resolutions and a couple of days we do not it is okay. We can get back on track after a bad day - it does not mean we have failed because of that slip up. Nobody is perfect and depending on what is going on in our lives, we will have bad days. The key is to move forward and not get bogged down by negativity. I believe if we try to be the best person we are capable of being, if we treat everyone (family, friends, co-workers and strangers) with kindness, then the rest of our life will eventu

We are finally having our first significant snowfall of the season - on December 27th. Certainly not a typical New England winter. On a normal year we would have had many storms by now, and many feet of snow piled high. Growing up I can remember days and days of snow with 2 or more feet during that time. The snow banks would be so high that you could not see to pull out into the street (if you dared venture out at all). We would have to inch out slowly and hope that nobody would come along and clip the front of the car. We would have 2-3 days with no school. Just time to play out in the snow for hours on end. Funny how the cold does not bother us when we are young. We would only come in to change into dry clothes and back out we would go. Having snow ball fights, making snow forts and tunnels, using our metal saucers to slide down whatever hills we could find. It did not matter if it was a small "hill" we made ourselves from the freshly fallen snow. Playing King of the Hi

Lately I am having a hard time trying to comprehend where so many young people got the impression that life would be easy. That growing up, being an adult, working and raising children would go along like a smooth running river. At best it is more like a river that has smooth days, but one that also rages from time to time and puts life in turmoil. I know that growing up I was never led to believe it would always be smooth sailing. Did we as parents make life too easy for them growing up? Did we neglect to make them want instead of getting all the time? Did we lead them to believe that they would always succeed and never fail? We know if you never fail, you never learn how to pick yourself up from that failure and move forward. If you can do that you will have many successes in life. We also know that if you want something bad enough you will work hard to obtain it. I am not saying that we should make our children's lives so difficult that there is no joy. And there is nothing

Today I am thinking about all the Christmas traditions my family has had for as long as I can remember. Traditions that have been passed to me by my mother and I have passed to my children. Also new ones that I have added over the years. There were certain things that we could count on. Our stockings always had a homemade popcorn ball, an orange (which was a treat in the winter) and a candy cane. We knew we would get knitted or crocheted slippers in a variety of colors to keep our feet warm on a cold winter night. My grandmother always sent the fruitcake. What child likes a cake with alcohol and dried fruits and nuts? I guess not many adults either, as to this day I will not eat fruitcake. Putting alcohol in sweets just seems so wrong. My mother always baked so the house smelled of fresh baked goods. All of us wanted to eat it as soon as it came out of the oven, but knew that we would have to wait. Bowls of nuts were on the table as well as freshly made fudge. So many treats to c

Once again we are dealing with an unspeakable tragedy in our country. Too many of these are taking place and we need to get better at recognizing the signs. Recently it was a mall shooting and now a school in Connecticut. I cannot begin to comprehend how someone could walk into a school and shoot innocent children. What has gone so wrong in their mind to push them to this? To watch the news and see a father almost drop to his knees with grief is so heart wrenching that it is unbearable to see. I cry with him and all the parents and families who lost loved ones, unable to grasp the depths of their despair in this moment. One can only imagine what they are going through. The parents who had to go to a fire house to see if their children were ones who survived or one of those that did not. The mix of emotions when you found your child - the absolute joy that they were spared and the total grief for the parents who lost their babies. Your friends and neighbors that you need to console an

Last night the big bad Houston Texans came to Foxborough and we had been told all week that it would be a tough game for the Patriots. The Texans were 11-1 and viewed this as the biggest game in the franchise history. The Patriots did what they always do - ignored the hype and played great football. And the outcome? Patriots 42 - Texans 14.  Brady threw 4 touchdown passes for the 18th time, passing Johny Unitas, and moving into 4th place all time. In the past seven games he has thrown 19 touchdowns and only one interception. The defense did a great job holding back the Texans, and are improving each week. Like every week it was great fun to watch. And as always when the game was over the Patriots did not have a huge celebration. They were happy with the win, but know there is no time to sit back. Time to move on and prepare for San Francisco next week. Because that is what Bill Belichick and the Patriots do. They may not always win, and sometimes when they do it is not a pretty w

Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, which happened over 2000 years ago. The word "Christmas" translates to "Mass Of Christ". Many of the traditions that we observe during the Christmas holiday season began way before the birth of Christ. Exchanging gifts, decorating trees, and the burning of the Yule log were all winter traditions that began before Christ was born, but were eventually incorporated into the holiday that became known as Christmas, and became part of Christmas history. I am not sure when it all began, but over the years society has not only lost the meaning of Christmas, but also insisted that we no longer say Merry Christmas. Everywhere you look it is Happy Holidays or Seasons Greetings. Merry Christmas is no longer politically correct. Some even act offended if you wish them a Merry Christmas. There are many people who celebrate other religious and cultural holidays such as Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Diwali and many more. I res

We decided to take a day trip the weekend after Thanksgiving. We had talked about going to see the Vanderbilt Mansion for some time so off we went. It turned out to be a beautiful day and a very easy, pleasant ride with little traffic on the road. The Vanderbilt Mansion in Newport, RI, called The Breakers, sits on a large piece of property looking out over the Atlantic Ocean. It is a large mansion with 3 floors - the first 2 floors were for the Vanderbilt's use, with the 3rd floor providing servants quarters. All the rooms on the first floor are very ornate with all the luxuries available during the time it was built. The 2nd floor, although very nice, was much more subdued as they were the sleeping quarters for the Vanderbilts and their children. On the front of the mansion is a large patio that opens to the magnificent front lawn going down to the rocky ledges to the ocean. No photos are allowed to be taken inside the mansion. When CorneliusVanderbilt died during 1899 at the

It is very disconcerting to see the growing intolerance and hatred in our country over the last several years. Not only because someone is different than you, but because their views of politics or religion do not align with what you believe. It seems that even if you do not agree with someone over religion or politics it is now acceptable for them to demonize your beliefs or views. When did this become acceptable behavior?  Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and beliefs, and nobody has the right to tell you that yours are wrong. Or to portray someone as ignorant, or even worse, evil because their opinion differs. I was raised to treat people with respect, and to be kind and courteous. Even if my opinion was different from another, we may have had discussions on the subject, but never argued, shouted or belittled one another. Today people seem to obtain joy from making someone feel bad for what they believe or because they are not like them. The bullying that used to be just