Rudi’s Gluten-Free Bakery was kind enough to request another blog entry from me.

Click on Rudi’s link below to view the entry:

Rudi’s Gluten-Free Bakery

Happy New Year Everyone!

As I drove my son to his first day of Kindergarten…I thought to myself, where did all of our time go? It seemed like yesterday that we were excited new parents, bringing him home from the hospital.

I started to mentally reminisce about my life…all the miles I have walked. How those miles have made me into the person that I am today, living the dream of being surrounded by two beautiful boys, a wonderful family, dear friends and a passion for what I do. Then I thought about my Kindergarten son and all the miles he has already walked in his very short life, right along side me.

Things happened so fast…school doesn’t give you much time to grieve as you bring him in, you are encouraged to leave just as quick.

While driving away from school, I thought about the wonderful memories I have of my big, little boy who is now in Kindergarten. I wondered if I paid attention to all the moments and kept myself present.

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Guest Blog Appearance by Sandy Fowler

When it comes to creating all those wonderful things we’re looking for in a holiday, joy, fun, family bonding and great memories, nothing beats traditions. Traditions are the bedrock for everything about our special celebrations. They give us something to look forward to. They create continuity and a sense of stability. They give us the framework on which to base our celebrations and they provide us with wonderful memories.

I still remember the traditions from my youth. I remember going to my grandparent’s house on Easter Sunday and looking for our Easter treat. Every year it was the same thing, an enormous bag of M&Ms, and my grandmother hid it in the same place. I remember my brother and me teasing my grandma about how hard it would be to find the candy and then goofing around as we made our way to the living room and eventually into the two end tables where it was hidden.

One of those end tables sits in my living room today and it brings me warm memories every time I look at it. It reminds me of my grandparents, of Easter, and of all the wonderful times I had with them.

That’s all we’re really looking for from our traditions, a little help creating some special moments.

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By Kristin Beltaos, M.A.

My five and two-year-old were passionately arguing about Thomas the Train…who was allowed to play with James, I know earth shattering. Lately, my five-year-old likes to get my 2-year old going, just because he can, which isn’t an attractive sight. As I scuttled my eldest out the door for swimming lessons, exhausted from a long day of mediating similar antics, the phrase “You get what you give” popped into my head.

As I began what seemed to be my 67^th monologue of the day, I explained to my son that if you give grief, hostility and tease that is what will be returned to you. If you give joy, kindness and care it’s what you will get back. He sheepishly said, “Yes Mommy.” I knew he felt bad, and hoped for a more peaceful night when we got home.

At the end of the swimming lesson, my son found out that he not only advanced to a higher level, but also skipped two levels (Little 4s and Middle 1s) and will start in Middle 2s. He couldn’t contain his joy when he learned of this, as he had been in Little 3s for three sessions.

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I was originally going to write earlier in the week about how to manage stress the week prior to Christmas. I even surveyed a few of my friends, family and colleagues to learn how everyone handles the stress. I started to write… and it just didn’t feel right.

So how about the true reason for the season. I started to write… and it just didn’t feel right. I felt a little preachy.

In light of this, I said to my husband… I am not going to write a Christmas entry. I will just write something for New Year’s.

You see, I get a little melancholy at this time of year. I think that’s why I wasn’t able to write. Christmas was my mother’s favorite time of year and she has been gone for 12 years. It hardly seems that long, and then there are days where it seems like she’s been gone forever.

Then something happened…

As my day progressed, I began to see my mother everywhere. It started when I pulled out my mother’s cookie cutters and spatula to make cookies. I can remember when my father gave me those shortly after she passed, I was so grateful.

As my boys’ excitement began to build I saw myself in them when I was a child… deciding which cookie cutter to use next, what colors of icing to make, what color should be used on each cookie. Then I looked down at my hands and saw my skin starting to dry from the flour, just as her hands did.

It was then that I realized she really isn’t that far away from me. She is in my boys’ excitement. She is in the cookie cutters and spatula that I use. She is in the old traditions that I pass on and in the new traditions as she always tried to think of ways to make the holiday special.

Eventually, my boys lost interest in the cookie making, just as I did as a little girl. I found myself at the kitchen table, alone, icing the cookies just like my mother.

In all these moments, she is still with me, in every simple thing I do. It brought to mind the Mary Elizabeth Frye poem:

“I am in a thousand winds that blow,

I am the softly falling snow.

I am the gentle showers of rain,

I am the fields of ripening grain.

I am in the morning hush,

I am in the graceful rush

Of beautiful birds in circling flight,

I am the starshine of the night.

I am in the flowers that bloom,

I am in a quiet room.

I am in the birds that sing,

I am in each lovely thing.”

So on this holiest of nights, thank you Mom for your persistence in showing me that you are still here with me.

I guess it took me 12 years to realize… you were always here.

Merry Christmas to everyone… love, peace, health and prosperity for each of you in the New Year.