In Pearlspective

T he calendar pages have flown rapidly by (sometimes threatening to hit you in the face as they pass) and the first 10 months of the year are a faint blur in your memory. Now you can take a deep breath Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash --- and dive headfirst into "The Most Chaotic Time of the Year" (isn't that a song?) commonly referred to as "The Holiday Season". Holidays are such interesting occasions and there are many ways you can spend them, but I will try to summarize the two scenarios that stand out as being most common. (In an attempt to create some diversity among the long list of lists listed on the internet, I have listed the second item on this list first.) Holiday Celebration #2: Although there is a certain sense of excitement in the air, this is a dreaded occasion almost guaranteed to be one of the most awkward days of your entire year. You rush out of bed on the morning of the holiday and scramble to make the best culinary cr...

I can remember it like it was yesterday but yet it's somewhat of a blur. It started on October 11th, 2015. We were relaxing in an Oklahoma hotel room on a Sunday afternoon, and some of us were going to take a short nap before going to set up for our show that evening, but the phone rang before any of us could fall asleep. The call was from a friend in Minnesota who had gone to visit my grandparents that day. Grandma had been quite ill for a while, but we thought she was on the mend. Our friend, who had a background as a hospice nurse, could see otherwise. "How soon can you get here?", she asked my mom. "I know performing is your livelihood, and I feel sick telling you to cancel a show, but I'd feel worse if I didn't. The time it takes to do the concert might be all the time you'd have to say goodbye." So, we canceled our show and left the hotel as fast as we could pack. We got in the van and headed north. We stopped after a few hour...

What Makes Christmas Different This Year?   T he Christmas season is hailed as being "The Most Wonderful Time of Year". Christmas is generally a memorable time, especially for families, and some memories are even repeated making them well loved traditions. Today I invite you to glimpse into my Pearlspective of Christmas, past and present. Growing up, my family and I, my cousins, aunts, and uncles would all gather at my Grandma's house in Minnesota. There was an abundance of food: Grandma would cook the turkey and the best mashed potatoes I've ever eaten; one aunt would bring Snickers bar salad, aka heaven in a bowl; my other aunt would bring "Pistachio Pudding", which is a strange but tasty mixture of jello, coolwhip, pineapple, marshmallows, and nuts (presumably pistachio); my Mom would bring a tempting assortment of homemade pies. Uffda! After we finished eating (too much), we all gathered in the living room where each grandkid would take a turn pe...