Bfth's Boring Blog

A new year...a new decade...there is hope on the horizon.  There should always be hope, but with entering this new age, I am hopeful again. I have lived for more than 5 decades and I have to say that this past one has been probably the worst that I have experienced to date.  (I hope that they are the worst period).  2010-2019 encompassed years of pain and strife.  Personally for me, 2012 was the worst year in my life (that I can remember).  I lost my grandfather (in-law) and my brother.  I lost my job.  My parent's home was destroyed as a result of Superstorm Sandy.  And then there was Sandy Hook.  As a mother of an elementary school aged child, that devastating event will never leave me.  In 2014 my father was seriously ill and both my parents ended up in the hospital.  In 2019 they sold the home that I grew up in.  Indeed for me personally this has been a decade of challenge and often of frustration. But it's not ...

I was going to do a year wrap up, or even a decade wrap up, but then I heard Jerry Herman died.  Hence this post. Jerry (I didn't know him, but I'm going with Jerry anyway), wrote some of my favorite songs and favorite musicals.  And my family has a bunch of memories to go along with them. My mother went to see "Hello Dolly!"  when it was first on Broadway.  (She didn't go with my dad!  Shocking!)  She still remembers how amazing Carol Channing was when she walked down that runway to the title song.  I can imagine how thrilling it must have been as the music swelled.  The songs and the cast!  In addition to the legendary Carol Channing there was Charles Nelson Reilly and Eileen Brennan! There have been plenty of amazing revivals, but I'd give my eye teeth to have been in the audience for the original production. The first musical I did in high school was "Mame."  It remains one of my favorite memories of high school theat...

On the 4th Sunday in Advent we light the candle of love.  Hope, Peace and Joy have come and now is a time to be reminded of the love that is the reason behind the season.  Love comes in the form of a baby.  And that is how it SHOULD be, two people coming together to express their love for each other that can result in a new birth; the ultimate expression of love. On this Sunday, however, I am reminded that love is so much more as demonstrated in today's New Testament lesson:  "Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. “Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.  But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wif...

We're in the home stretch for the holidays and the end of the DECADE is less than 2 weeks away.  (How the heck did that happen???)  It's time for me to spend some time spreading my special brand of Bfth cheer with rants and maybe a few raves too... As I write this we are technically still in autumn.  Yet, we have already used up a snow day and this Tuesday's ice storm looked like nothing...until I hit the backyard.  My usual ice coated driveway was clear, but each blade of grass was engulfed in ice.  Sure the trees looked pretty, but when one uprooted in my backyard...not so pretty.  (And not so cheap to get removed!)   If this is what late autumn looks like, what is winter proper going to be?  I'm shivering in my shoes and it's not from the temperatures!  (Although I would LOVE a day where the temperature actually hits freezing or above!) This entire month has been one g...

" Silent night, holy night, All is calm, all is bright" It's clear that Franz Gruber (who composed the melody to the much loved song) and Father Joseph Mohr were living in a different world than we face today. And I doubt either had to deal with children/family on the week leading up to Christmas. All is NOT calm...and looking out my window all isn't bright.  (The tune playing in MY head is "In the Bleak Midwinter" even though we aren't even officially in winter yet!) One of the reasons I made this past Sunday a family day of fun and relaxing (sort of) is because I knew this week was NOT going to be calm.  This week was (and is) chaotic. Let me give you a picture of what this week before the holiday break at school looks like for my family: Monday:  After school my son had choir rehearsal, rehearsal for the spring musical and then walked home.  (I was going to pick him up, but I got delayed at the office and no surprise, traffic was horrific...

On this third Sunday in Advent is a time of joy, so rejoice!  As it says in Isaiah: “The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God. "Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, "Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you." "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall...

Charlotte:  6 Daniel:  7 Rachel:  29 Olivia:  6 Josephine:  7 Dylan:  6 Dawn: 47 Madeline:  6 Catherine:  6 Chase:  7 Jesse:  6 Ana:  6 James: 6 Grace: 7 Anne Marie:  52 Emilie:  6 Jack: 6 Noah: 6 Caroline:  6 Jessica: 6 Avielle:  6 Lauren: 30 Mary: 52 Victoria:  27 Benjamin:  7 Allison:  6 They have been dead for 7 years now. What have I done in the last 7 years?  What purchases have I made? What parties have I gone to?  What celebrations have I enjoyed? They have been dead for 7 years now. In the last 7 years I have laughed and cried.  I have been happy and sad.  I've been angry and I've been elated. They have been dead for 7 years now. How many sunsets have I seen in the past 7 years?  How many stars in the sky have I admired?  How many times have I shoveled snow?  How many waves in the ocean have I jumped?  How many...