I’ve shared this before, but I feel this advice from the website Next Avenue is worth sharing again to help avoid the tension and conflict that can occur when families come together from far and wide during the holidays.
Bury the hatchet (and although tempting, not in someone’s back!). You may not forget past wrongs, but try to maintain a spirit of forgiveness.
Simplify and reduce stress. Don’t be totally worn out when guests arrive. Determine ahead of time what is essential and what is not. And skip what is not.
Sneak in a few breaks to relax before, during, and after the gathering.
Reinvent your traditions. Find a new location for the gathering. Or go as a family to help volunteer for a community event. Think outside the turkey roll.
Rethink your gift-giving. Donate on behalf of your loved one to a nonprofit. Or give “experience” gifts: Tickets to the theater or a gift card to a restaurant they would not normally visit.
Maybe most importantly, hold your tongue — even when they have it all wrong! Follow the advice of Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet and philosopher, who suggested letting your words pass through three gates before you speak:
At the first gate, ask yourself, “Is it true?”
At the second ask, “Is it necessary?”
At the third gate ask, “Is it kind?”
Families can provide support in difficult times and at other times a source of anxiety; they are connections to the past, and our hopes for the future. And when families are often scattered and disconnected, gathering together is a special time to be enjoyed and cherished.
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Now if you don’t have a family gathering planned and would like good food and good company — and no cleanup! — on Nov. 28, I know of two free Community Thanksgiving Dinners in the Gorge.
In The Dalles area, there is the Annual Community Thanksgiving Meal from noon to 3 p.m. at St. Mary’s Academy, 1112 Cherry Heights Road, sponsored by the Salvation Army. To order a delivered meal, call Kris Harmon at 541-296-6417.
And in Hood River, there is a free Community Thanksgiving Dinner at the Riverside Community Church at 317 State St. from noon to 2 p.m. in the Riverview Room.
These Thanksgiving dinners would not happen without the volunteers helping with food prep, serving, and clean-up. To volunteer in The Dalles, call Kris at 541-296-6417; in Hood River, you can sign up online through Sign Up Genius at bit.ly/thanksgiving-sign-up.
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Brain Tease: Take the given words, and by moving a single letter from one word to the other, make a pair of synonyms, or near synonyms. For example, given: Boast — Hip: Move the “s” from “Boast” to “Hip” creating two synonyms: Boat — Ship.
1. Inks — Tiles
2. Ride — Relive
3. Gaze — Freed
4. Snail — Pike;
5. Snag — Cold
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The next question for your “Soul Portrait:” Are you vain about certain things?
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The name of the singer and actor who was one of the most popular artists before his scandalous affair with Elizabeth Taylor while married to Debbie Reynolds was Eddie Fisher.
I received correct answers from Marny Weting, Steven Woolpert, Dave Lutgens, Lana Tepfer, Eva Summers, Rhonda Spies, Jess Birge, Judy Kiser, Keith and Marlene Clymer, Pat Evenson-Brady, Bruce Johnson, Doug Nelson, Nancy Higgins, Ken Jernstedt, Donna Mollet, Rebecca Abrams and Cheri Brent, who is this week’s winner of a quilt raffle ticket. The drawing will be held Nov. 23 during the Mid-Columbia Senior Center’s Annual Holiday Bazaar from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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Before reality TV became popular, this NBC television show featured concealed cameras filming regular people in unusual situations. For this week’s “Remember When” question, can you complete this show’s famous catchphrase, “Smile, you’re on ______ ______”?
Email your answer to mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at 541-296-4788, or send it with the episode that included former President Harry Truman.
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Well, it’s been another week, wondering what this winter will bring. Until we meet again, we take care of ourselves by taking care of each other.
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“I always prefer to believe the best of everybody. It saves so much trouble.”
— Rudyard Kipling
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Nutritious home-delivered and in-person meals are available at noon Monday through Friday unless otherwise noted.
Seniors of Mosier Valley (541-980-1157) — Wednesdays with music on the second and fourth Wednesdays; Mt. Hood Townhall (541-308-5997) — Tuesdays; Hood River Valley Adult Center (541-386-2060); Sherman County Senior and Community Center (541-565-3191); The Dalles Meals-on-Wheels (541-298-8333).
For meal sites in Washington, call Klickitat County Senior Services: Goldendale office (509-773-3757) or the White Salmon office (509-493-3068), and in Skamania County call Senior Services (509-427-3990).
Answers: 1. Links — Ties; 2. Rid — Relieve; 3. Graze —Feed; 4. Nail —Spike; 5. Nag — Scold
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