12/30/2017

Final Reflections for 2017



On New Year’s Eve Eve it seems fitting to put together some last minute thoughts for this past year:

  • Never believe something that sounds fishy.  Some people tell you what you want to hear because they think you are gullible. Don’t be. Only a blind man misses red flags.
  •  Quit slamming people for living differently than you, for their actions. So what if they post more pictures of themselves on Facebook. They are happy with themselves!  If they talk about their giving nature, they are trying to motivate others to get involved. Are you motivating anyone whiner? Selfies are for those that get a kick out of seeing themselves, some eat it up. If you don’t like them don’t look at them. Freewill is a beautiful thing.
  •  Don’t talk about losing weight and do nothing about it. Your body is a temple and depends upon it. Without action, you will be enticed to eat more anticipating cutting back.
  •  Inaction is a choice. Seeing wrong and using it as an excuse to shake your head is the wrong reaction. Step up and be a catalyst. Living in darkness is a choice. When you see someone struggling, as my dear friend says, lead them to a healer or learn to be one. Don’t be confused and be an enabler but simply be a resource between helpful aids so they can take valued steps forward to get quit destructing and construct. 
  • Don’t use being busy as an excuse not to reach out to say hello to those that matter. When they are gone, you won’t hear them say “It’s good to hear your voice” or read “Thanks for reaching out. “ 
  • Use laughter as self-therapy. It doesn’t require filing a claim, setting an appointment and sets an excellent example to those around you. And, as Milton Berle says “It’s an instant vacation.” 
  • Quit using the phrase “It’s on my bucket list” and just start doing that shit! What the hell are you waiting for? Leaving the money to your kids won’t work. They aren’t interesting in doing the things on your list.
  • Money won’t make you happy. Pick goals that are rooted in friendship, growth and love. If you don’t know what those are read and ask someone older. They have gone through the hard knock school of life, the best class there is. 
  • Your legacy is the lives you touch, every day. It does not have to be simply those in your inner circle; it can be the smiles you give strangers. Kindness to others is the best verbiage you can leave on your tombstone. 
  • Jesus had a short time on earth. Perhaps that is why he only had 12 disciples. We have an extended time. Make the most of yours to be a disciple of Christ by how you live your life. Walk into the light and guide others towards it. 

Whatever you have learned in this past year, challenge yourself to bring it forward to the New Year and use it. Become a better person, brighter. What good is it to repeat the mistakes of the past and leave loved ones, treasured friends behind simply because you are too busy and putting your life in automatic pilot. Share your experiences and insights with those outside your inner circle. Make the most of every moment of every single day. 

And here's to wishing all of my wonderful followers who give me far more than I could ever give any of you an adventurous New Year!        
                                                                 Veronica Gliatti



12/26/2017

Testy Tessie

And so it goes, my luck with dogs, I get the puppy that is one of the largest in the litter, untold till I
bring her home. Two days later, I get a text from the owners letting me know my test to see if female
Tess & me
dogs are really more gentle-natured is really more of a lively Brut compared to her 6 brothers in the litter of 7. Thus, begins the life with Tessie, testing my patience.

Okay, I admit I forgot the trials and tribulations of potty-training. My kids were much easier and so were ALL other dogs I owned. This little bitch is a challenge. She is smart being a labradoodle the poodle seems to be quite dominate making her extremely intelligent.  Thus her norm is outside is playtime, inside is peetime. And thank God the vet suggested giving her treats as a reward for going to the bathroom outdoors. However now she seems to think going anywhere is worthy of a treat. Who is smarter, her or me? 

Everything in the house is a play toy, except the doggie items I bought in the rip-off section of the store! You know the section, where the sign says Pet Toys and are simply kids toys made small with baby squeezers in them the size of your thumb but inflated prices by 75%.  Today, Tess discovered toilet paper. So glad I buy it bulk at Sams because it is going to have to still remain in reach of the john inspite of her penchant for unrolling it. Oh, don’t tell me our puppy is not talented. She can unroll it in a mere 30 seconds flat!
So Busted!
Better than doggie toys!
 
Do you know what it is like to take a shower with a small puppy with long legs at your feet?  I do.  The only time Tessie does not mind being in the water is when I am taking a shower. The very minute I hop in the shower to take the quickest showers in my life she begins whimpering like she has been attacked by another dog, right there in the bathroom!  As she cries by the glass doors, scratching “Mommy I want in” I relent and let her in.

Thus begins my, what use to be, chill serene showers, long gone, now invaded by a four legged animal weaving figure-eights around my feet. Once she gets done feeling as if she is tangled and me being cautious of not losing my balance, she does the unthinkable at my feet. I blink and there comes the squat. I watch as she proudly does #1 and thank God it is not #2. And nope, no treat this time for Tessie.

Tessie now wants out. She has her bladder unloaded and has had enough! Out goes the wet mangled puppy looking like a black rat. All I see is too beady eyes looking back at me silently saying dry me
off. I look back with mine saying Hell no, I am not getting out right now when I have a moment’s peace and the shower finally is to myself. You can wait, you black rat!  She retreats to the rug to wait patiently knowing sometimes I win the battle.

After showers, I dry her off.  I then head to the backdoor to grab her leash to take her out. Good routine, because it’s all about catching the time for #2. I want that number always done in its proper place, I mean this dog will be a lady! One day, as I am putting the leash on, struggling to find the darn loop, she starts tooting. Okay, I tell her, I am hurrying. Her squirming is not making it any easier. Whodathought more would come with the toot?  Isn't she a female?  

Right there on the floor, thank God not the carpet, she starts dumping a load! I am shocked beyond belief, I am holding her and she starts her business. For the love of God, what puppy does this?  I swear she is simply being defiant to me. I make a mad dash out the door as if she has anymore left in her little butt!  By the time I put her down in the grass, she is hopping all over the place, literally giddy with laughter at what she left me to clean up inside.  Don't dare make excuses for her because she is cute or a puppy, she does this shit on purpose to punish me for being a disciplinary in the house.  We played outside longer than usual so I could put off cleaning up dirty diapers, I mean poopy floors! 

The Spoiler, Daddy! 
As my friends tell me, puppies need routine, they need structure. And just like with my kids, I am the one that does it. And just like with my children, she rebels. She does to her daddy, Mr. Softie.  Can we just say, with puppies rebelling  and everyone telling you she is so sweet you are left speechless?  Why do people so easily forget what little teeth feel like buried in your feet and how many chords lay on the floor? 

Well, in all seriousness, she is a bundle of life, with its ups, downs, full of laughter, frustration and happiness and love. She fills a void in my life that my dog Charley left and still is there. I love her already  inspite of her testing me, at times to the limit. And truth be told, if she could talk, she would say I test her!

12/24/2017

Chance or Miracle


On Christmas Eve Day, reflecting on the miracle of Christmas magic all around us seems quite fitting. Are you cognizant of God’s handy work in your life or just moving around in automatic pilot as if things happen by your design, poor luck with no rhyme or reason and no divine intervention?  If that were the case, what would be the point in having faith, praying or celebrating the birth of a newborn King every year?

As I reflect on several ‘chance’ meetings I can see a plan unfold in my life that has led to tremendous growth and blessings in my own life. Through my own sufferings I have grown and developed into who I am today.  Just to share a few…

Years ago, on a trip home from New York, we were on the expressway and the traffic was barely moving. We were in Cleveland and stopped at a rest area to take a break. We had replayed CD music over and over and even that was getting old. As we walked up the walkway a huge crowd was gathered outside.  It was September 11, 2011 and we were told what was going on. 

As the crowd grew larger, we all bonded there, from all walks of live over an American tragedy that we all knew, forever would change our lives, our country.  Fellow Americans had died while we had sat in our cars bitching about backed up traffic. We had all noticed no airplanes flying overhead and thought it odd.  Never had we dreamed what had taken place.  Never again would any of us be so foolish as to think stopped traffic was the end of the world. Keep your perspective on the road and in life. Patience truly is a virtue.  Living is what matters. You are given the blessing of life while others time has run out.

Driving home from celebrating Christmas with family, we stopped for gas one year.  In the restroom, I heard a young girl sobbing in the stall. With urging, I got her to come out.  She was afraid her mother’s boyfriend would hear her crying she told me.  We whispered so I could calm her down and find out what was going on as something told me this young girl needed me. She told me she was 10 years old. Red-eyed with pony tails I told her to ease her fear we would blast the water in the sink to cover our voices.  She was to tell him we did not talk and I only helped her clean up the sink and try to shut it off. 

Her story was that he had pushed her out of the moving car on his way to get gas while driving fast. Leaving her roadside, bruised and scrapped and cut up, he only came back a little later to pick her up. She was living in fear because he was very mean to her and hurt her.  I gave her advice on how to try to live with him and reiterated she must speak up to her teacher, doctor and anyone else she knew and thought to be a safe person about what was going on. If her mother wasn’t keeping her safe she needed to find someone who was.

At this point, a man began screaming at the door, yelling what apparently was her name. I yelled back, roughly as if I too was a foul mouthed woman telling him the sink was messed up and I was helping her clean it up. I whispered to her to not let a word on and just hang in there, pray to God and He will listen and tell a safe person as soon as she gets a chance, kissed and hugged her. I told her one day you will be safe like I got there!  She smiled and walked out. And I prayed, I prayed hard and I cried. And I thanked God for letting me have the chance to be a light of hope.  We all need to be the person that tells children that are hurting that the future can and will be brighter. And also, if their parents are hurting them, tell someone who cares and will do something about it. Be a child’s mouthpiece, God puts you there for a reason.

The first time I attended a camp for cancer survivors, I felt out of place. I wasn’t sure I would connect with any of the ladies there. The second morning I was there, I stepped in the restroom to take a shower and saw a woman at the sink. As she turned around, I saw this strange aura around her, like a golden light. She says she got a strange feeling about me. As we talked, we felt as if we had known each other for years. We quickly became soul mates.

Since that time, one of my dearest friends has seen me through a many tragedies and triumphs and I have been with her either in presence or spirit through hers. It can be in the strangest places that God brings into your life the greatest of his healers and allows you to be the great healer for others and soul mate for another. Do not walk into rooms with your eyes shut to strangers.

As I swam my laps in the pool, my foot came in contact with a person. I lifted my head and saw a stranger! Apologizing I found out it was a new person to our community I had just kicked hard in the abdomen of all places!  Feeling horrified, she laughed saying ouch as it had to hurt. The second time I met this nice lady was I had to interview her for the community newsletter I write for as she was a new resident.  Luckily she declined to comment on the “kick” in the article! LOL! 

Since that time, she and I have developed a very special friendship that continues to grow. I have friends in the community but prefer keeping intimate friendships more too very few. And yet, with this woman it is as if that kick worked backwards and was a kick to me. It is as if God kicked me and told me this woman is something extra special. I am not sure, if that hadn’t happened I would have reached out, conversed and spent the extra time getting to know her on the surface we have nothing in common and yet, in getting to know her, she is beautiful inside and out. She is truly enriching my life as our friendship grows.  I find myself almost grateful I kicked her and now thinking God had something to do with it because I truly do sometimes get too caught up in my own world. Be open and don’t get so comfortable that you are afraid to let others in. God may be putting them there for a reason.

On Jesus’s birth, many were in denial that a King could be born in a mere stable. They did not see 
this as a miracle. Do miracles really happen every day and do we recognize them? Can it be God’s plan that people really get bonded over 9/11 at a rest stop?  Can an abused girl crying for help receive
God’s answer through a stranger on Christmas day? We all need friends that are like soulmates. Is a miracle God giving you one that just relates to you one very level? And lastly but as importantly, is part of God’s master plan of Christmas like magic bringing new people into our life that we know are part of our future ?  I say yes, miracles happen daily and show the magic of Christmas should be celebrated and recognized and shared. I think that the blues post-Christmas should be offset by the realization that the magic of God’s power extends 365 days of the year and only begins with the birth of Christ and doesn’t end there. And with that, Merry Christmas to all! 

12/15/2017

King of Christmas


How many kings and fathers gave up their sons for me?  In a world where self-serving leaders seem focused more on meeting their own needs and fulfilling their agenda, it is hard to believe a leader would only care about us. Who enters the world humbly in a manger in a lowly stable and changes the faith of the world?

I often wonder why the Christmas season is the time when the focus is so heavy on spending money. Jesus had a message about everything but wealth. His was a message of love and of leading others to his Father. Yet on the anniversary of his birth, even as adults, we celebrate by being more focused on gift buying and giving than on the birthday of the greatest of Kings.

Who among us has touched more lives?  Which leader has heard more praise, more whispers asking for help or more cries of gratefulness than Jesus?  And to think he started in a stable, a place where horses are kept, smelly and cold that night in Bethlehem.

Are you keeping in your Christmas Christ?  When you think of the celebration of the holidays and look at your tree, do you remember the light on the top of the tree is more in remembrance of the North Star leading three wise Kings to behold Jesus?  The angel on others trees should remind us all that the angels had their voices raised in unison at the glory of the birth and what was to come.  They knew what so many were too naive to believe and see, a King of all Kings was among us and would show the way for ages to come.

St. Nick is a wonderful tradition. Giving of gifts has its place during the holiday season. Gathering around the tree is indeed splendid as is many of the other age-old traditions. However, if you are not leaving out time to reflect on the most inspiring part of Christmas, rejoicing over the birth of Jesus, Christmas is like a tree unlit.  The blues after Christmas will hit you for certain because the light of Christ will not be lit within you. 


So as I asked myself how many kings, leaders, icons have given up so much for me, the answer is one. And I continue and ask you what man has influenced history and mankind more than any other by his life which was cut short by disbelief in his goodness?  The answer is found in Christmas, Jesus, the reason, so please keep the baby in the manager in your heart this season and let His light shine in yours!


12/11/2017

Christmas Reflections for Our Soldiers


I am sure many have read this over the years but it bears posting it again. Our armed services from all countries must never be forgotten over the Christmas season.  The poem below was written by a United States Marine serving.  

CHRISTMAS POEM

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF
PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY
WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO
IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,
A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
NOT EVEN A TREE.

 NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,
JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES
OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.


WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,
 AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
 A SOBER THOUGHT
 CAME THROUGH MY MIND.

 FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,
 IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
 I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,
                                              ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

 THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,
 SILENT, ALONE,
 CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR
 IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.

 THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
 THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
 NOT HOW I PICTURED
 A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.

 WAS THIS THE HERO
 OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
 CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,
 THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

 I REALIZED THE FAMILIES
 THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
 OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS
 WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

 SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
 THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
 AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE
 A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM
EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.




 I COULDN'T HELP WONDER
 HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
 ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE
 IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

 THE VERY THOUGHT
 BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
 I DROPPED TO MY KNEES
 AND STARTED TO CRY.

 THE SOLDIER AWAKENED
 AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
 "SANTA DON'T CRY,
 THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;

 I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
 I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
 MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
 MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."

 THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER
 AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
 I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,
 I CONTINUED TO WEEP.

 I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,
 SO SILENT AND STILL
 AND WE BOTH SHIVERED
 FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.

 I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE
 ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
 THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR
 SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

 THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
 WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
 WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA,
 IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."

 ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,
 AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
 "MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,
 AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."

For any serving reading this, God bless you, keep you safe from harm and know those of us at home wish you the Merriest Christmas ever! 

12/09/2017

Lighting up Christmas

Oh my, as a child I loved Christmas Vacation thinking Chevy Chase was the man! All those
lights on the house, my little heart was broken when he went to plug in the lights and kaboom, the fuse blew and the fire hazard of the county only fired up for a second. I wondered why our home never even looked remotely like that!  So I was determined, when I grew up, my home would be a replica of his. That desire lasted very shortly, about the time I decided a rockin’ Christmas had more to do with other things than lighting up!  

The first house I moved into I was pregnant with my second baby on the way. I was twenty and already had a two year old child, Mike. My baby, or rather one to come shortly was due at Christmas.  The name I had picked out was Christopher, so sure it would be a boy born on the 25th of December.  We were moving to Northern Kentucky from Cincinnati, Ohio to our dream starter home, a bi-level house spending every last penny we had and borrowing enough to make a down payment.  The neighborhood was small in comparison to many nearby and everyone appeared to know each other there so we assumed we would fit right in.    

Our real estate agent failed to inform us our community was in the news practically every Christmas. Yes, we had landed in the Christmas Street of the city and county! It might have been nice to know so we could have budgeted for this.  So, here we are, first new home, struggling just to buy lawn hose, lawn mower, curtains, curtain rods, etc. thus Christmas lights and elaborate decorations for the outside of the house was low on the priority list.

Little did we know we were going to be targeted by the neighbors and fodder for gossip. It began getting filtered back to us by the very few that spoke to us.  We were seeing neighbors working diligently outside mounting things on their homes, stringing lights for hours, items appearing in their yard but I didn’t pay a great deal of attention. I had a small child I was running after and a painful back from a baby in an odd position in my belly. 

One night as we are sitting in our family room, we realize it is lit up in our house like a Christmas tree even though ours isn’t up yet. Approaching the window my husband yells at me to come look. Damn if the entire street isn’t loaded with more lights than Wally World has in inventory during the entire holiday season! And the creatures on the lawn and on the roof tops are too numerous to count. There were baby Jesus’s that had multiplied like rabbits as well as North Stars, snowmen and Rudolphs up to 3 feet above homes! 

As we stepped outside our front door we were met with another shocker, a sign hung across the entire street. It hung from one chimney to the other chimney’s house two neighbors living directly across from each other. It was made in big squares with each square containing letters and held together by a chain above it.  It read Happy New Year with Christmas icon pictures painted in huge colors so that each box was filled to cover the entire street with boxes.  We later learned each huge square was made water proof.  The sign was lined with lights so it was viewable at night quite well! Walking down the street we saw the other side said, as you drove up the street, Merry Christmas.

The entire street was like walking down the Las Vegas strip, as light as in the day, full of color and diversity of personality, except for our bleak looking black house, looking like we belonged in the projects.  I walked my wobbling fat bottom back up the hill to my house, leaving my husband gaping with his mouth wide open behind. I wanted to hide in the shadow of our house.

It wasn’t but a few nights later, I begun to hate those neighbors.  My son, Mike was a very light sleeper who woke up when he heard the heater kick on at night. Well, to add to the Christmas cheer, the neighbors blasted Christmas music for all the cars that began hitting our street, stopping and walking it. There was young and old. There were cars stopping on all sides, blocking driveways so if you went anywhere you couldn’t get back in your driveway until you found where the car blocking your driveway was and the same was true when you wanted to leave.  As I was having cravings, this made it rough when I had ice cream or pickle cravings.  Imagine being pregnant under these circumstances.

The music played every night from 6 p.m. to midnight.  So the only time I got a break from my dear son was gone!  He was either frequently caught peeking out the window at the throes of people outside or whining about having to listen to Santa is coming to Town every night at least 10 times, asking me to make it stop!  Our weak TV couldn’t over blast it.  

That Christmas, our first year in a home, I saw how Christmas lights can become a competition as the neighbors constantly talked of what they were adding the following year. When one wasn’t outdoors, the others would talk about how they were going to outdo each other. I was glad to know that no one was talking about how to outdo me!  I made sure, from that Christmas on, that was never a problem! Decorate by never being the one everyone on the street hates.

As Christmas drew near, my spirit began to soar. I put my Christmas candy in candy dishes being a candyahlic, requiring a lot less working than climbing ladders stringing lights all over the dang house and roof. When I came home from church one Saturday night, my husband and I noted the dish was empty.  As we looked at our dog, Max, our golden retriever had a few pieces of red and green foil stuck on his doggie collar. There was a chocolate thief in the house!  And you know what the means?  Someone is going to made piles of a chocolate mess all over the floor!

So, thank God for the light works on the street because our vet informed us for the next 3 hours we had to take turns walking him up and down the street.  This drudgery was to be done until he either vomited it up or pooped it out. Max never did either but enjoyed the lengthy walk.  To this day, I have no idea what happened. He never developed diarrhea but I, in my pregnancy state, developed severe leg cramps as we lived on a steep hill.   I swear that dog was laughing the entire time manipulating us to get the longest walk of his life out of us.  Bah humbug, I never bought those damn chocolate mint Christmas bells again!

Finally Christmas arrived and no baby.  But I knew the days of hearing Christmas music playing all hours of the night would be behind us so that was cause to celebrate. Too often, the neighbors were forgetting to turn it off and we were hearing the music in the wee a.m. hours now! 

Bright and early Christmas morning, our doorbell rang. You know how the early hour is, you are in your pajamas, your hair looks like you were in a wild windstorm, and you look half-awake.  My husband and I looked at each other. We both were challenging each, who is going to address the door, and also wondering who comes to the door that early on Christmas morning.  So, for some reason, we both headed that way as Max ran to the door. We knew one of us would have to hold him back as his Merry Christmas would be a wet kiss regardless of the absence of mistletoe.


Opening the door, expecting one person, we were shocked. On the other side was a group of what appeared carolers. But no, this congregation was about 10 neighbors, all looking
wide awake and bushy tailed saying Merry Christmas!  They said as new neighbors they wanted to give us a gift and held out a package for us to open. My husband then gave me the honors. As I opened it thinking maybe I had somewhat misjudged them as being way too much into Christmas.  With the first tear, I realized my gut is a good judge for staring me in the face was a box of Christmas lights. My husband was slapped on the back with a “Now there is no excuse for you next year to get your house all decked out with lights, here’s your first strand to get your going Mike, Happy New Year bud!”  And with that, they walked away.  I smiled at him and said “Merry Christmas Chevy!”  

Sister Bonds

  Having spent some time recently with my older sister, it reminded me of so many shared moments in our youth.   Those years were some of th...