2025 Blessing Jar

So Christmas before last (2024) our “gift” at church (the church always gives the congregation a small gift usually on Christmas Eve, made by the youth) was a Blessing Jar. It’s a little plastic jar with a sticker on it that says “blessings.” The goal being that we’d write down our “blessings” throughout the year and drop it in the jar. On Christmas Eve we are to open said Jar and remember all the blessing we have received over the past year. I liked this idea and fully embraced it. I didn’t drop a blessing in every day but when something good would happen I’d write it out on the piece of paper, put the date and drop it in the Jar. Even tho I got my Jar on Christmas Eve I dropped in a few in December as little Olia made her way into the world. I also have blessings in the jar for January, Feburary, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, and well December. So I did better than I thought I did looking back on them.  

A few highlights include:

• 12-31-2024- Olia has been discharged, everyone is home and a family of three starts this next phase of this journey
• 1-18-2025 Got up super early and made our way to Pittsview to officially meet Olia in person. She is so adorable. She slept most of the day but was a trooper with being passed around so much.
• 1-21-2025 Mobile got 6-10 inches of honest to God Snow.
• 1-27-2025 I turned xx I’m blessed with family, friends and loved ones who reached out in various ways to say HBD. I keep thinking of my cousins Kevin who didn’t make it to this age (brain tumor). Am I living up to my potential ?
• 2-4-2025 Volkert turns 100 today. A great achievement and one that a lot of companies don’t get to celebrate.
• 2-2-2025 Uncle Ernest passed away today. Grateful that I got to see him back in January when we stopped by after seeing Olia. He made it to 89.
• 4-19-2025 Andrew asked Alana to marry him and she said yes. There will be a wedding in 2026, a graduation too for both of them. Proud of them. She’s lovely and already fits in well with our group.
• 5-12-2025 McNeil graduated with a  doctorate in Pharmacy today.
• 6-8-20205 Golden and I went to Atlanta to see the Stray Kids. I’ve never seen her more excited for a thing ever! I admit I didn’t know them before this but I’m glad she introduced me to them they put on a great show. I had to manually control her light stick cause we couldn’t sync them up but she only noticed that half way through the show
• 7-18-2025 McNeil is a fully licensed Pharmacist! I am so proud of him and how hard he works. The kid is hella smart and focused.
• 7-30-2025 – Mrs. Danley’s funeral was today (Paula’s mom). She had a brain tumor and while her battle was short it wasn’t easy. The boys took it really hard. I’m proud of them tho they both held themselves together when it counted. McNeil sang a song. They both were pallbearers. Alana even made the trip down from school for it.
• 8-15-2025 – Mom had bypass surgery today. It was scary but she did really well. Several friends came and sat with us during the surgery which was nice. I think dad really appreciated it.
• 9-1-2025 – I made it to Dragon Con ! Neil and Dad insisted that I go so I did but I thought about mom the entire time. The day I left she was moved to a room. The following day she was moved back to ICU as her oxygen kept dropping for very little reason. I couldn’t fully focus on DragonCon but we tried to do all the things. I ended up coming back early and mom was super excited to see me. So I’m glad I did that.
• 9-6-2025 – mom and dad celebrated their 55^th anniversary in a rehab room, mom’s getting stronger and that’s the best gift she can give him.
• 9-24-2025 – MOM IS HOME!!!!!
• 10-3-2025 – Andrew and Alana drove home so that we could throw a pumpkin party. I got to carve pumpkins with my favorite people and I’ve never been happier. Grateful this tradition means as much to them as it does me.
• 12-25-2025 – OLIA IS ONE!!!  Or as we say around here … Olia is ONDERFUL. Best gift we ever got.

I like the idea of the Blessing Jar … I plan to continue it into the new year …. What to do with the old ones… I want to save them some how … maybe I’ll find an envelope and drop it in the Jar too. It was fun looking back at them this year. Maybe I’ll do better this year about including more things in the Jar not just the big stuff.

Here’s to a great 2026 for everyone far and wide, I wonder what blessings it will hold. 

Marcy

RIP Betty White

I have always made fun of people for doing numerous amounts of things.

But one thing in particular is having a family member who is damn near pushing 100 years old and then when they start to wind down, their family members are astonished...

“What's wrong with great gran, why isn't she getting up and sticking to her routine?”

“I can't believe that PeePaw just lays around all day, he used to be so active!”

“Well MawMaw is getting to be so stubborn and won't eat.”

“It's so depressing the way PopsPop has already picked out his burial suit and pallbearers!”

And then the day arrives when our loved ones pass and everyone is so sad. The arrangements are made and it's finally time for the homegoing ceremony and all the family members come with their family made t-shirts with a picture of Maws or Peepaws or Great Aunt Alma May and in bold ass letters the shirt reads “GONE TOO SOON” with the years of birth and death.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm only addressing the people that pass who are tripping towards a century's worth of living on this plane. There are absolutely people that pass too soon, and that is NOT who I am addressing. But regardless, yes I'm willing to admit this makes me look like an asshole. But I can't help it. Think how much a person could experience in 90+ years. 100 years ago, most people didn't own cars and the cars that were available maxed out at 20-28mph. And although I am definitely pissed that we don't have flying cars, we do now have cars that park and drive themselves. The first broadcasting channel in America began in 1928 in less than 100 years we went from nothing to live streaming anywhere and everywhere (Well unless you are in the back of a walmart, then you are screwed.)

Oh the things you will see....in 100 years. 

BUT... My exception to this rule is the lovely Ms. Betty White.   She passed away Dec 31st just 18 days shy of her 100th birthday. And as of yesterday this woman was still making headlines. No matter how many years we could have been afforded this angel of a woman, I'm sure she still could have continued to teach us and lead us right up to the end, even if it was an additional 100years later.

She taught me many things including

• Care for the animals and love the doggos
• Never let others judge your value based on the superficial. She was told that she was not photogenic enough to work with movie studios, thus why she worked her way thru radio.
• She was a woman in a mans world, who ended up carving out a place for herself in front of the camera and behind it. Both the Talent and the Boss.
• She bucked racial and societal norms
• She demonstrated that you are never too old to become a household name or to enjoy a good lap dance
• She proved you can grow, but still not take yourself so seriously that you grow up.
• And always remember to feed the gators

All that being said, I will be getting a GONE TOO SOON (Jan 17, 1922 – Dec 31, 2021) shirt made in her honor. Because just this once I believe it. And from one Golden Girl to another, Thank you Betty for being all our friends!

-golden

(@theonlygolden)