Keep It Sybil

Today I was having a conversation with a young lady and she says to me, "I found out something about myself that I didn't realize before.  I don't like it and I am not sure what to do about it".  With an opening like that, I was sitting on the edge of my seat to hear her story.  It was a really good one believe me.  I am not going to retell her story but I am going to give the basics. First of all, gaining awareness of an attribute that you were not aware of in yourself is a wonderful thing.  If it is an undesirable trait it may not seem like a good thing, at the time, but eventually you will see the treasure that you've uncovered.  Okay, to sum up our conversation she was told by a person she used to deal with, that basically she was too eager.  He told her that during the time that they dated, she was always planning things and insinuating herself into his space.  He advised her that she just didn't let things happen naturally.  She asked...

As Christmas is fast approaching I am visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and the future.  Even though my visits are not quite as Dickensian as one may hope, they are none the less, interesting to say the least.  The reason for my visits though are not to keep me from being a scrooge-they are to remind me of the wonderful life I have had up to this point.  So the past ghost is the one that has the most time and the most memories. The earliest memories I have of Christmas would be at the age of three, right before I was turning four years old.  We lived in Delaware and every Christmas, my parents would drive us out to this house on the outskirts of the city where the whole house would be lite up.  This house was so amazing even by today's standards.  They had so many lights that there was a collection box so that those who visited the home could drop in donations that would go towards the enormous electric bill the owners would receive after t...