Magazine Ads, Christmas and Love

A memory of a romantic Christmas moment comes to mind today.

It was about 20 years ago that I was flipping through a magazine and came across an ad for some rings done by Bvlgari.  They were very different and colorful and I casually said out loud to my boyfriend at the time that I was very much impressed.  He wasn't overly attentive to my comment but did give the page a quick look.

At work about a week later I was at lunch with a friend and mentioned the ring that I admired so and she was interested in seeing it so I promised I would bring the magazine to work for her.  For a few days I looked and looked through all the magazines in my home trying to find the ad so that I could bring the proper magazine to work.  I thought I had dreamed the whole thing as I could not find the ad anywhere.

I had looked in one particular magazine several times as I was sure it was in that one, to no avail.   As a last attempt to prove to myself the ad was in that book (and that I wasn't insane), I carefully pulled apart each page at the middle binding to see if it had been torn out.  I did not find it had been torn out but the page had been carefully cut out of the thick bunch of pages so perfectly that it was difficult to really find that a page was ever there at all.

I still have the ring that Jack "surprised" me with that Christmas.  We still laugh about the fact that once I found the page missing, I would have been very disappointed had he not purchased it for me.

I also selfishly keep in my heart the memory of such a romantic gesture.  The ring size is very small as I guess my fingers were so much smaller than they are now.  I couldn't wear it for a time since it only fits on my left, ring finger but this Christmas I am wearing it instead of my wedding rings...and every time I glance down at my left hand I feel the thrill of that Christmas all over again.

Missipoo, Maddie and Flowers

Missipoo and her little one, Maddie, Crab Shack

I'm 40-something supervising others in the handling of insurance claims, claims by workers that have been hurt on the job in some way.  Nothing sexy about claims work.  I'm alone now, kids have moved away, husbands long gone, thank you.  I pull the car into the garage closing the door behind me; I am now in my happy sanctuary til 6am the following morning when I leave again for the office.  I leave the car, go through the garden patio and on into the kitchen of the condo.  It's dusty and stale from being closed up all day, I kick off my shoes and get comfortable, opening windows and the front door to let the breeze in through the screen door.  I enjoy my view of green grass, flowers and trees, then my eyes glance the welcome mat on the porch and there I find a carefully gathered bunch of colorful flowers.  I push the screen door slightly open and pick up the bouquet that I realize has been picked from neighbors yards and left as an obvious message for me.  I suspect Missipoo...later she says yes she left flowers for me again, just to let me know she came by to say hi.

Flash forward to now, Missipoo is a 30 something mom.  She's still visiting, via airplane though, since we don't live in the same neighborhood anymore.  And now she brings Maddie and Gustavo along.

What an honor it is to be this woman's aunt, to witness her growth from a little girl to the beautiful, bright and successful woman she has become.  And she's not only beautiful on the outside but inside as well.

Thank you Universe!  I am so grateful for all of my blessings.

Christmas Memories

So here's the clock Jack got at an antique store about 15 years ago.  It reminds him of one in his home as he was growing up.  The statue is one I purchased in Taos a few years ago.  The artist is Ned Archuleta and it is entitled "Wind" I believe. The lamp and mirror we bought when we moved to Roseville, a temporary move for me that ended in the most wonderful love adventure of my life.

The statue  brings to me memories of the open-ness of Taos, the chiles on the front doors, the food that we experienced which is very much in the style of my mom's cooking which she learned from her mom who came to SoCal from El Paso.  She was the manager of a restaurant in Los Angeles for a time.  Oh, but I digress...Taos, a wonderful experience with artist friends.  The lighted box in the center is of glass and is a lighted Christmas present, just beautiful, made by a friend and purchased at our annual Boutique this year so it's a memory I made this year for the future!

So on to pick up Missipoo, Gustavo and little Maddie at the airport.  I am so looking forward to hugs and smiles and to creating some more Christmas memories!