Dear Reader:

Last night the doorbell rang and there was a UPS deliverer with a package….he looked so tired and he admitted that he was ready to get home for supper but he still had several more packages to deliver. Gin-g had given me some pumpkin bread so I cut off a slice and handed it to him….he wolfed it down in two gulps…so I ran and got him a Christmas coke and he left “ho ho ho-ing.”

So many people sacrifice their time for others at Christmas and it is so easy to overlook them in the hustle and bustle of the holidays.As I stared at the package I was puzzled…I didn’t have anything else on my Christmas list that I had ordered.

When I opened the card and gift I was overcome with emotion….that adorable Lisa Register (from Chapin, SC) had sent me the beautiful angel in the title photo along with this card.

She had emailed me while I was flying back from NYC Monday afternoon asking for my address and now I know why. She said that she now recognized the everyday angels (from Monday’s blog) in her life too. Lisa….You are an angel in my life for all your support and love in my sometimes feeble attempts to share my thoughts and observations of life with you. Merry Christmas to you and your family!

When Brooke asked me if I would go to NYC with her last September for a long weekend… a couple of weeks before Christmas I only hesitated for a minute…then I threw all my concerns about unimportant things out the window and followed my friend to NYC. (This is the same friend who would leave Walterboro at the crack of dawn on my chemo treatment days to come to Summerville, pick me up, and take me to Charleston. A friend like Brooke doesn’t come along every day.)

As it turned out…it was a very good decision for both of us….but first….here are some photos of the last day spent in NYC….beautiful little neighborhoods, Calvary St. George church and the coldest ride on top of a double decker Holiday Lights bus I ever spent.

We were sitting on top of a double decker bus with the wind blowing from 7-9 p.m. (or later) and I just about froze! Brooke took a before and later photo on the bus ride. I was still smiling but deliriously…I was laughing actually hysterically. I still don’t know how Lacy kept her “cold” (not cool) without turning into a popsicle. She must truly be a ‘New Yorker’ now! (I would have put Brooke’s picture in but her eyeglasses were so fogged up you can’t even see her eyes under her scarf!

I am just going to show you  a few samples of the decorations because I was so cold by then that I can’t remember which store fronts went with which store….but you know the drill on  5th Avenue: Saks, Tiffany’s, Cartier, Trump Tower, Polo, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Armani, Prada, and the Gap...among many others.

Henry and Lacy….thank you so much for spending your weekend hanging out with us gals….you both deserve a medal! We loved ya for it! Merry Christmas to both of you!

And what was our last meal in New York City Sunday night…a NYC hot dog! We couldn’t leave the city without one and as luck would have it…look what was located at the end of our block….just as good as they advertise!

We had done what we set out to do….see, hear, smell, touch, and definitely taste New York….and it was delicious. Monday morning we packed, got a cab to Penn Station…finally figured out how to board the New Jersey Transit to the Newark airport….all was well and then we got off the train to get on the air-train that would take us to the terminal for our flight when Brooke made the terrible discovery. She had left her pocketbook on the train…and it had already pulled out of the station.

Thank goodness our tickets were electronically secure on her Iphone which she had on her but she had no ID…none. (except me and for some reason my verification that she was who she said she was held no clout what so ever.)

The angel at the Air-train desk heard Brooke’s sad story and just let us through the handicapped gate…which, at the time, was quite appropriate…we were mentally and emotionally gone!

Poor Brooke went through three supervisors at the United gate security with all kinds of questions which took about half an hour…the time was drawing nigh to get to our gate. Then Brooke’s suitcases were turned upside down while she was examined to the point that I told her she didn’t need another physical for five years!

By the time we got on our flight (we had the last two seats by the bathroom….actually appropriate for what had happened…we were exhausted and starving!) Finally we just lost it and giggled most of the way home….what else was there to do?

About halfway through the flight I looked out and saw this sight outside my window and knew God was letting us know He was still in charge and all was right with the world.

But the sweetest conversation took place between a little boy (about 9 or 10) and his father in the row right in front of us. We had landed and were waiting for the unbuckle sign to come on….the young boy was avidly watching several planes take off near us and commented to his dad: “I just thought of something dad….each plane is going to some place  isn’t it? So aren’t we , also, always going to some place?” His dad nodded and replied: “You are exactly right…I think you just defined life…we are all heading to some place, some point in our lives.” 

When the “unbuckle” sign flashed on…the introspective child became just a little boy again and screamed out to all the passengers “Yeah…we are alive…we did it.” Everyone around him laughed! Brooke and I added an “Amen”!!!

So until tomorrow…Brookie…I will follow you, my friend, through life… and NYC… because that is what friends are for!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*When I got home late Monday afternoon there was a decorative bag on the porch and who was it from?…My friend, neighbor, and Clemson co-hort in screaming through the games…Donna Clark.

I already have my attire now for watching the bowl game on New Year’s Eve! Watch out tigers…the Boo is ready! Thank you so much Donna…can’t think of a better way to be welcomed home!!

I got my energy back yesterday and attacked all the Bradford Pear leaves that had fallen….I actually like yard work because there is such a sense of accomplishment when finished… unlike housework that never ends.

Later in the afternoon  Honey (the philanthropist galore) arrived with the Apple Pineapple Centerpiece…an annual tradition for the past few years since Honey introduced me to it. The centerpiece makes the whole room smell so good…it’s beginning to smell a lot like Christmas! Thank you Honey for the centerpiece, helping me get two household items unstuck, and leaving an extra surprise. You never cease to amaze me!!!!!! Merry Christmas!