Dear Reader:

The cold is settling into the lowcountry… Yesterday was chilly and overcast. Along with the new cold weather front the calm remains…It has only been the ‘bright’ that has dimmed somewhat among the clouds…

Some people had to return to work yesterday and get back into the routine while others were traveling back home the day after Christmas. Families visiting over Christmas were heading back to reality and for our British friends they added another holiday to go shopping for more sales… Boxing Day (which has nothing to do with the sport of “boxing.”)

(A short history) December 26, 2017

A ‘Christmas Box’ in Britain is a name for a Christmas present.
Boxing Day was traditionally a day off for servants and the day when they received a  ‘Christmas Box’ from the master. The servants would also go home on Boxing Day to give ‘Christmas Boxes’ to their families.

A box to collect money for the poor was traditionally placed in churches on Christmas day and opened the next day – Boxing Day.
Great sailing ships when setting sail would have a sealed box containing money on board for good luck. Were the voyage a success, the box was given to a priest, opened at Christmas and the contents then given to the poor.

In England and Ireland…the day after Christmas… the gifts keep coming or going depending on what side of the giving/receiving line one is on.

For me this year the day after Christmas was a calm day. Ben left mid-morning and I picked up a little bit and straightened up a little bit and then took a nap for a little bit. With the cold, overcast skies it was a perfect day for lounging in front of the fire with a bowl of soup.

At the stage of life I am in now…I think my traditional name for the day after Christmas should be called: Memory Musings. A “PJ” day for resting and recalling all the memories of Christmas 2017. It is also the day to go back through gifts received and play the game Memory … matching up gifts to gift-givers before you forget and lose the gift tag.

It was the perfect day for stories…like the story of the good deed of King Wenceslas on the Feast of St. Stephen. (Also celebrated on December 26)

The good king looked out and saw a poverty-stricken man gathering wood against the bitter cold. The king decided to bring food and fuel to the poor man and called his young servant to help. 

Page and monarch went forth, but before long, the young page began to languish in the cold and came close to dying. King Wenceslas told the boy to step in his footsteps, and warmth radiated up through them to save his life. ( Excerpt from All I Really Want -Caldwell) 

So until tomorrow…Father, let us stop in our daily lives to look out the window and see the needy people who could use  a hand. Then let us tread in Your footsteps…bringing comfort, warmth and joy to others.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Today (December 27) is my grandmother’s birthday (Mary Ellen Seawright)…She is the same grandmother whom I have mentioned in the blog many times. She really did help keep us afloat after daddy died and mother lost her hand. Grandmother Wilson reached out her hands to us.

She was born in Due West, South Carolina, attended Erskine when it was a women’s college, graduating in 1902. She then became a teacher until she married my grandfather, Charlie Wilson, a cotton farmer.

Though they were never monetarily rich…The Wilsons sent all four children to college…an amazing feat back then….What a gift for the twin boys, Uncles Herschel and Harlette, then my Aunt Eva and finally my mother. Pioneer stock and the wisdom of a schoolteacher/ mother who knew the importance of sacrifice for education…at a time when most women still weren’t educated…just the sons.

Herschel, Harlette, and Eva all graduated from the Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC. Mother, being the youngest, and most rebellious wanted to get as far away from the farm as possible and so she attended Winthrop College in Rock Hill…her first taste of freedom.

*I am happy to report that Hoshmakaka, the camel’s story, did help one of our blog readers over Christmas…Nancyjean Nettles. I think we can all relate to this dilemma. Thanks for sharing Nancyjean!

Oh, Becky, this was just perfect! We ended up having 34 scheduled for Christmas dinner, and I was in a panic – and my back hurt & i’d sprained my thumb – and I sounded just like Hoshomakaka! Dewey kept saying, “It will all work out,” and of course, it did. All it took was for family to arrive, and my worries slipped away. Perfection wasn’t needed – just love for each other and “the reason for the season.”
Sending you love today and always!