Sunday, December 27, 2020

Festivity Focus - Week of Dec. 21st

Cam has always been a "glass half full" kind of kid.  Yes, his parents tend to be positive individuals, but each person makes a choice as to how they approach life.  Cam is accepting, empathetic and kind.

When we checked out the glass half empty vs. half full, we found the most credible reference of its origin from the Los Angeles Times, Feb. 26, 1933.
Two men were looking at a bottle of milk. Said one with a groan, "The bottle is half empty." Said the other with a grin, "The bottle is half full." The first belonged to the courters of disasters, forever bemoaning their losses; the second to the invincibles who win by counting their blessings.

For the first portion of the week, Cam was fortunate to have Ms. Amanda come over to hang out while Chris and Jane finished up full work days.  We all exchanged gifts.  Amanda knitted super soft scarves for both Cam and Jane!  She also gave her buddy all kinds of baking kits and a cooking utensil set complete with a hot pad.   Cam put together a sundae basket for Ms. Amanda with all of her favorites and we gave her some clothes and socks.
It's a different year for everyone this season and following our glass half full premise we were determined to remain positive.  Although many events were cancelled, our small family celebration persevered.   Oma and Opa arrived on Christmas Eve.  We watched the church service online and opened some fun surprises sent in the mail.  A Ghirardelli chocolate tin showed up from a work partner Jane does business with.  In addition, 
a huge basket from Jane's colleague filled with everything from New Jersey had the entire family exploring the contents.
Cam had a tough time getting to sleep Christmas Eve since he kept listening for Santa outside.  He understands there are many Santa's and that parents help the cause but the magic of the white-bearded man and its history still capture our son's imagination.  Christmas Day was relaxing and purposeful, enjoying each other's company and slowly revealing gifts.

Cam created a sundae basket for Opa and one of our favorite gifts this holiday was creating same-day photo puzzles (10x14) from Walgreens.  Jane and her son had fun scanning some old pictures and choosing which ones would appear.  Chris had the genius idea of gifting our family a bread maker, something Cam has been thinking about for awhile.
In the evening, our family took a tour of Lowell to check out some lighted buildings set to music and we enjoyed being cozy on the couch.
We were so thankful for gifts from Cam's grandparents as well as Oma's most delicious Christmas cookies, all from old recipes that stand the test of time.

From our family to yours, we send our love and virtual hugs.  The promise of a new year is just around the corner.  May your glass be half full on a daily basis.

Camology Quotes:
Our cousins surprised us with an invite to an online cooking class to make authentic Spanish Paella (pronounced pai-eh-uh) on Sunday afternoon.  The event was hosted by Helina, a chef in Barcelona, Spain.  
There were ingredients to prep and certain utensils and pans at the ready.  Cam was quite doubtful of his parent's skillset when he realized they had forgotten to boil their tomatoes in advance.  
It was an awesome experience and now our entire family knows how to cook paella and we all love it!  
For the majority of the 90-minute class, you could hear the following mantra could be being heard in our kitchen...
  "Mom, did you do that step?"  "Dad, she said to stop stirring.  Do not stir so much."  "She wants us to unmute."

1 comment:

Chris Weatherford said...

Mom, your blog is so awesome. I just love my blog!
Love,
Son