Happy New Year!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

May you have lots of love and happiness in the new year and always.

This will be my last post of 2009.  Thanks to everyone for reading my blog.

Me and My Shadow

It's Christmas Day

Well, here it is...Christmas morning and all through the house, not a creature is stirring, except for me and the cats...hubby is still sleeping soundly.

This is a good time to reflect on and share with you what Christmas means to me. Since I am not affiliated with any particular religion and do not have children, I can be very clear about this holiday that has been, for centuries I think, designated as the celebration of Jesus Christ.

I have long forgotten about Santa Claus and because I do not have children in my life to keep that myth alive, it is just fine with me. After all, isn't the point of Christmas to celebrate the birth of Christ?...whatever day he was born, this is the day that was chosen to rejoice his birth.

It used to be that it was a special time of year, when people were extra kind to their fellow human beings, when church and God and Jesus was the biggest part of the holiday theme...gift giving was done with care and lots of thought, often lovingly made by hand. Then, somewhere along the way, Santa Claus and the giving of expensive and numerous store-bought gifts became the focal point, and in my opinion, which as you know by now is neither humble nor clouded in mystery, that is when Christmas lost it's true meaning. THAT is when we lost the "spirit of Christmas".

It seems to me that at this time of year most people stress over buying gifts for everyone on their list and how they are going to pay for it all, where to put their visiting guests, what the Christmas meal will include, who will sit where, whose home the dinner will be at, and just a lot of anxiety and disappointment. We search for the spirit of Christmas, the magical way we felt when we were children and we want that again...but it rarely comes to us, at least, not the way we remember it. Is it any wonder that so many of us become a little bit depressed during this time?

And in the rushing around to make sure the kids have the latest video games, toys, and cool clothing and the adults in our lives are given even better gifts than we gave last year....we mostly forget what this is all about, or what it used to be all about. I suppose that being a retailer I should embrace the idea of people spending money and I DO appreciate the fact that each year, my loyal customers come back to buy something special for their loved ones. WHY? Because the ones who purchase their gifts from my shop realize that the woman they are buying something for will treasure that item because it comes from Tattered Rose....and it IS real and given with thoughtfulness and love, and that makes it OK.

I don't promote Christmas like just about every other retailer on the planet....and that is probably what makes me an awful business person. I'm an artistic soul, not a typical retailer but it could be the reason that my wonderful customers keep coming back each year....they know there will be no pressure to buy, buy, buy! They will not be bombarded by Christmas music, there will be no tree, no elaborate decorations and definitely no Santa! But I will try my best to help them find that special gift that will mean the world to their beloved. Maybe other retailers know how to do good Christmas business, I know I sure don't, but I like to think that I make up for the lack of that knowledge in other ways.

I have had some special moments and lots of hugs, cards and even gifts from my customers and THAT more than makes up for the fact that I am not some huge electronics store raking in the BIG money! (although a little of that windfall in my bank account would be nice)

I'm not even sure if all this rambling makes any sense, but I thought I would share my thoughts this morning with all of you out there who grace my blog with your presence. I appreciate the time each one of you takes to read or at least glance through what I have written...and I hope that you enjoy not only the pictures, but also what I have to say....it all comes from my heart.

I truly hope that we can all find a way to incorporate more love, more meaning and more honesty into our Christmases. Gift giving is fine but it doesn't have to be the sole purpose of the celebration. Let's try to get back a little of what we once had before it goes away completely. We should pass these traditions on to our children so that future generations will understand what Christmas is really all about....the birth of Christ, family, friends, kindness, goodness, truth, hope, peace and above all....LOVE!

Merry Christmas to all (who celebrate it) and to all a good morning. Time for me to go and see what the felines are doing....and check on my husband......well, he's still sleeping. Merry Christmas to me.