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Christmas at Home, in the Office by Sheri LeClair Banitt

We live in world with many different religions, holidays and traditions. But I am a boomer and I believe in Christmas. Some of my earliest memories are going through the Sears, JC Penney, and Wards Christmas catalogs and circling the toys I wanted Santa to bring. For weeks, my siblings and I perused the catalogs with no thought or reason given to price or quantity, we just circled what we wanted and hoped for the best.

We had a big family dinner on Christmas Eve, alternating between my Grandmother’s house and her sister’s house. It was fun to see the cousins and have a big dinner. But the main attraction for the kids, were the presents under the tree. One of the grown-up men would ‘play Santa’ and pass out the presents that were from grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Everyone got something and there was lots of laughter and fun. When the last present was opened long into the evening, we all headed home to our own houses to wait for Santa to come overnight.

We didn’t have a fireplace, so our stockings hung from the hall doorway. In the early morning, or the night when we woke up, our stocking would be at the foot of our bed. It was filled with candy, an orange, and peanuts in the shell. Our gift from Santa would be there as well. Sometimes we were sure we had heard or seen Santa in the night. It was always a thrill to go from bed to bed to see what our siblings got and to compare our treats. Later, Grandma and Grandpa would come over to see what Santa brought.

There was church too. Sunday school, programs, choir and worship. I appreciate those memories now as an adult. But the kid in me then, and now remembers the thrill of decorating the Christmas tree and the anticipation of ripping the paper and bows off the packages to see what was inside.

It is no surprise then, that I recreated these traditions with my own children. We had most of the same traditions, just new kids and fewer old ones. They were excited but maybe not as much as my generation. Because my generation did not get presents and parties and new clothes and toys for no reason. We got presents for birthdays and Christmas only. New clothes and shoes for back to school, Christmas and Easter only. We had fewer material possessions and spent more time outdoors. New toys and new clothes were a big deal, not just a passing thrill on payday.

Like many boomers, I carry the excitement of Christmas with me today. I go all in the day after Thanksgiving until after New Year’s Day. I have 22 hours of Christmas music in my library, and I’m always adding to it.

I bought my first Christmas Sweater in the late 1980’s. I went to Donaldson’s in St. Paul and bought 3 matching sweater vests; one for me, and one for each of my daughters. We couldn’t afford them, but I needed them. We were adorable that year in our matching vests and long blonde hair with big bangs. That was the beginning of a long run of Christmas sweaters; so common, I don’t even have pictures of them.

I wish I had known they would come back into fashion in the ugly sweater craze. They’re not ugly to me. I love the sweaters with snowmen, Santas, wreaths, bells, reindeer, trees, cookies, stockings and presents. I have spent the last several years collecting some beauties and have always looked forward to wearing them in the office at Christmas along with my very cheerful holiday jewelry and socks.

Now in 2020, I am working from home, by myself, at my desk in the family room. It’s just me and my furry coworkers at the office. But I still need the excitement of the Christmas season. I still need the lights and music and sweaters and jewelry and socks. So I get dressed each morning, ready for the office in my ugly sweater, jingle bell earrings, ornament pin and Santa socks. And I head downstairs to the office.

I stop along the way to have a cup of coffee with my dear one before he heads out to work; he is an essential worker and still goes to work each day. Then I log in to my computer and get started with my day. I hope to be in the actual office next year where I can show off my Christmas outfits. Until then, there is Zoom. Let me know if you’d like to meet for coffee.

What is Optimism? by Sheri LeClair Banitt

Weeks after the U.S. Presidential election, we are still in limbo as we wait for #46 to be named. We have a second waive of coronavirus threatening our healthcare workers and school systems. Many people are out of work and lining up for grocery giveaways. Others feel certain someone is scheming to harm them.

Amid concern for the mental health of our youth and isolated adults, we are tasked with the business of carrying on. No matter how much inconvenience, hardship and heartache we feel, we must continue on with our lives. The way we live will certainly impact the outcome of our difficulties.

I am disturbed by current events and have fallen into despair from time to time. Even so, I choose happiness. I choose joy. I choose to believe that my actions matter and that my actions are formed from my thoughts and feelings. What I think, I believe. What I believe, I do, and what I do becomes my world. I choose optimism.

Optimism appears at the end of the day, when the sun sets and the business of the day is over. Optimism appears in the quiet of the evening routines. I smile when I pick my homegrown Asian Pepper to spice up the chicken soup simmering in the pot. When I pulled the tiny seed from a dried pepper and dropped it into a 2 inch pot of soil, I gave it some water and hoped it would grow. It took no more effort than a few teaspoons of water each week for my seed to grow, bloom, bear fruit and provide me with a delicious reminder that sometimes the best thing you can do is to hope for the best and believe in what you cannot see.

Presidential Election 2020 by Sheri LeClair Banitt

Today is election day in America. There are reports that one third of Americans have already submitted their ballots.

We are so polarized that it is hard to imagine an outcome that will benefit anyone. Why are we so divided? I think people are worn out and tired. Many are still recovering from the last recession of 2008. Some are doing well and don’t want to lose hard earned gains. Others have never been well and continue to struggle financially as well as socially. All of us want to feel safe and that means different things to different people.

Donald Trump ushered in a new kind of politics and it is bringing out the meanness in people. I have a hard time reconciling with people I have known throughout my life who are suddenly calling everyone names, behaving with rudeness and selfishness while at the same time glorifying the one man who is least concerned with their well being or mine.

People who claim to be Christian ignore everything about Christian teaching and Christian values while they angrily uphold the rights of the unborn. Yet, they are the same ones who are unwilling to say Black Lives Matter. They merely say all lives matter, thereby reducing the message of racial inequality that people of color are trying to relay.

Some people say it doesn’t matter how our President behaves or what he believes, as long as he is pro-life, reduces taxes and makes the economy great. I don’t believe any of those things are possible without moral and ethical integrity, empathy and love toward all people. I don’t believe it is possible to behave like an undisciplined child and lead a nation to greatness.

No matter the outcome of the Presidential election of 2020, I want more than to ‘Make America Great Again’, I want to make America better than ever before. I know we can do it, but I am not sure how much effort it is going to take. The score was never settled for past racial injustice against natives, involuntary transplants and immigrants looking for a better life.

I hope Americans begin to disregard the political rhetoric that tells us there are only two paths for life in America. I hope Americans remember that we are a diverse nation of strong people who can find a way forward when we work together.

C19 Quarantine Hobbies #5 Vintage Style Tree Skirt by Sheri LeClair Banitt

So I have been making many things during the last 7 months that we have been quarantining at home. Other than a few family occasions and some outdoor activities, I spend most of my time at home. It has been fun to work on some old hobbies as well as trying a few new things. In true boomer fashion, the new things I’ve tried have been based on past memories. I have been making beaded ornaments reminiscent of my childhood.

There are now so many that I decided they need their very own, old fashioned, tinsel tree. So I bought one online.

Well, everyone knows if you have a tinsel tree and beaded ornaments, you’re going to need a tree skirt. I thought about one that one of my Grandmas made for our tree when I was kid. I wanted to replicate it with some sequins and beads. So I bought some felt and stuff and got started.

I used a skirt I already have to get the round shape and got to work pinning and sewing the rick rack.

Next up was planning the felt appliques. I decided on green trees, red stockings and silver bells.

It was easier than I thought it would be. But as I was sewing on the shapes I thought about the time it was taking. The tree skirt and felt stockings we had as kids were sewn by hand which would have taken much more time. I am thankful for the luxury of the sewing machine and my comfortable craft room to sew it in. Only thing left to do was to embellish the appliques with sequins and beads.

I sewed on the sequins, beads and bells by hand in the evenings while watching television. I always had one or more little helper sitting with me in my recliner while I worked. Pictured are my shih-tzu, Ping and my kitty, Remi.

Ta Da! All finished. Watch in December to see this under the tinsel tree decked out in ornaments!

The Spam is Ridiculous by Sheri LeClair Banitt

I have been avoiding the blog because I am overwhelmed with the impossible Presidential election that is looming, the direct and indirect consequences of the Corona virus, and the unseasonable snowstorm that landed over 8 inches of powder before the colored, autumn leaves have even blown off our trees. It is hard to think of something meaningful, even motivating to share with an audience when I am feeling all kinds of mixed up emotions. Tonight, I decided I would face my apathy and push it aside with a new post. A great post. A post that would outshine many others. Because that’s what bloggers do.

Alas, the blog was bombarded with SPAM! The kind that gets through the spam filter and disguises as comments waiting the author’s approval. Let’s be clear; I do not approve. I do not like this spam. I am slightly amused, and highly annoyed with the kind of spam that the millennialboomer is attracting.

Am I to believe that what interests Boomers the most are drugs for erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence? And that Millennials are most interested in buying a paper online? Well, I don’t. I don’t believe it and I don’t allow it. You may not push drugs on my blog and you may not steal my writing to sell to others.

I think what Boomers and Millennials want the most is the same thing that people want at all ages: connection, comfort, community and love. Where’s the Spam for that stuff?

I guess I’ll have to put it out there myself. But it won’t be spam, it will be old fashioned blogging with recipes designed to fill the mind and soul with goodness and love.

Rona – Working from Home by Sheri LeClair Banitt

While many are out of work due to ‘The Rona’, (coronavirus-19) I am able to work from home. I am very grateful for this opportunity for several reasons:

I am not in close proximity to my 3,200 co-workers in the high rise so I have less chance of getting covid. Bonus-I am away from all the cold and flu germs too.
There is no work stoppage for my employer who provides important service to our customers.
I continue to receive a paycheck.
I no longer have a 45 minute commute one way to work.
I can avoid the office distractions.
I can wear comfy clothes, though I get up every day at 5:00 am and get dressed as usual.
I can go for walks outside in my own community on breaks and over lunch.
I have more energy without the commute and distractions, so I am more productive than ever.
I am more relaxed at home and sleeping well.
I am spending more time in my own space, making my own healthy food and enjoying my pets. I am living in the life I created for myself, instead of only wishing I could be there.

I Can’t Stop Growing Plants by Sheri LeClair Banitt

Since I am mostly homebound due to Covid 19, I have been working my hobbies with great intensity. I have always enjoyed growing plants and gardening indoors as well as outdoors. Now I am just pulling out the seeds and mini pots and planting interesting stuff.

If you peruse the picture gallery, you will see that I have several cute plants in the pretty lady pots from Target. They make me smile. Then I have a tiny spider plant grown from a much larger spider plant. There is a teeny tiny succulent that grew from a seed, from a flower from another succulent in the window. Finally, there is a pinecone I picked before it opened and spilled its seeds. I am hoping it will become my bonsai tree.

African violets are one of my favorite house plants. I remember my Grandma Vern grew them. My mother in law also had a favorite purple violet. One in my window is a cutting from hers, though she has been gone for many years now. There are so many colors of leaves and colors of flowers on these plants and they continue to multiply from the roots and they can be propagated from the leaves.

I love that even though it is autumn in Minnesota, I can still have blooms indoors. There are blossoms on my Asian Pepper and I have a lemon growing on my scraggly Meyers Lemon tree. I am also attempting to sprout trees from a couple of avocado pits. Nothing yet, but I haven’t given up. I think it takes a really long time.

I put my sickly Meyers Lemon tree outside for the summer and it came back to life. Now that cold weather is approaching, I brought it indoors. I am determined to keep it healthy this winter, so I bought a grow light to keep it sunny. I put crushed egg shells in the dirt and I’m trying really hard not to overwater it. Wish me luck!

Vlogging – it aint easy by Sheri LeClair Banitt

I love my new recording equipment and tried my hand again at a vlogging entry. I am one who learns by doing. And since I haven’t done this much, you can see that I am a beginner. That’s never stopped me before. I have a long history of learning about tech by trying it to see what happens. I need to learn to edit my work, but for now, just talking for the camera is an accomplishment I am proud of. More later.

Covid-19 Fatigue is Real…and we’re not sick yet. by Sheri LeClair Banitt

2020 has offered the world some extreme challenges. In America, we are divided like never before in a Democrat vs. Republican election year. That is tiring on its own with all the media hype, the Russian trolls invading our social media and families divided by political rhetoric. There have been several natural disasters, including floods, fires and tornadoes. We have experienced a racial awakening in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder that took place in my home state, very close to home. With all of this, I find most daunting the fatigue that entered society along with the Covid-19 virus.

I’m not talking about the actual, physical symptoms and lingering effects that come with contracting the virus. I’m talking about the extreme fatigue that comes with being ever vigilant against this lurking threat. It seems there can be no spontaneity anymore unless you are willing to risk your own health or someone else’s illness.

Before leaving home, you must make sure to have a mask and check to see if your destination will be open and receiving visitors. When you get there, you must run through a long list of Dos and Don’ts. Do wear your mask and stay 6 feet away from anyone. Don’t touch your mask or anything around you. Do wash your hands thoroughly, but don’t use the air dryer in public restrooms-they spread germs. Do use hand sanitizer, but don’t use the kind that can hurt you. Do stay connected to people, but don’t hug or kiss them, don’t laugh too much or sing into someone else’s zip stream, (the air that lingers after you move – it has germs in it). This is just to manage your grocery shopping or a trip to the gas station.

For those who are still going to work in person, there are many more concerns than just the morning alarm, commute and what to eat for lunch. Now you must check yourself for symptoms every day and attest to being healthy, then submit to a temperature check. There are more rules and regulations to follow and that can increase the workload, just when we long for a rest.

If you are working from home, you are faced with distractions that are not present in the workplace. You must be engaged and productive even when the dogs are barking and the kids are fighting. Your home is exposed to others in ways it has never been before.

School kids, teachers and school support workers have strict protocol to follow each day before they can even begin to get to the real business of learning. Masks, distancing and electronic instruction are foreign and there is no historical data to support the new teaching model, leaving teachers tired and discouraged. Parents are confused and overworked and want a break from long days with children who are stressed.

We should save money in case there is a recession. We should spend money so there is no recession. We have to watch the curve, keep track of the numbers, make sure our elders are safe. We must feed the hungry and help our neighbors who have lost their jobs. We are fending off depression and domestic violence against people and animals. We struggle to learn new ways to communicate through video calls, social media, emails and text. We guard against gaining weight and feel guilt about the plastic and packing that comes with mail order delivery. There are so many things to think about and remember.

We’re tired, and we’re not sick yet.

I Got Some New Tools by Sheri LeClair Banitt

Thanks to Dr. Stacey Patton and classmates, I am learning how to vlog! I have lots to learn and this fun!