11
Dec

Keeping the Memory Alive

I am at the age that I have to seriously think about keeping the memory alive! Santa

I have never dealt with anything like this before. Especially during the Holiday season.

Less than 3 weeks ago, my family unexpectedly lost a beloved friend and “brother” . He was a Marine, a Clown (literally), a DJ, gave the best hugs ever and a truly amazing man. With his death, I can honestly say that I know what it feels like to be in total shock. He was happy – he even transformed himself to be Santa. To our little girl he was “Uncle Eddie Santa Claus”.

As a professional organizer who teaches agile methodologies, I talk about staying focused on what is important, prioritizing your day, not getting distracted by conversations and situations that you can not change and continuing to move forward with daily and weekly goals.


The death of our friend has been a true test of my ability to stay focused. 
Being a military family, we have lots of acquaintances – and a few friends. Eddie was a true friend to my husband for 37 years.

How do I stay focused on business, family and keeping holiday traditions alive – especially when your friend is “Santa” and everywhere I turn I can “see” him? It ain’t easy!

(This is a real picture of Uncle Eddie “Santa Claus” and is not to be used or reproduced without permission from Organization Direct)

After some grieving, my family decided to think of ways that we could honor him this Christmas. So, we continued our Christmas tradition of cutting down a live tree. Only this year we searched for the tallest and roundest tree that we could find in the tree lot. Here it is!  Even if it meant shoving it in through the sliding glass door! We knew how much Eddie loved Christmas and that this would be a great way to honor him. I can just see his smile and dimples when I look at the tree. (I don’t even have enough ornaments to decorate the tree – but that doesn’t matter!)

As we cry our way through this Christmas, I want to just encourage and remind everyone to call those that you love, give them a hug and tell them how you feel. Stay focused on what is important. Stop worrying about everything being “perfect” and pleasing everyone this Christmas. Make this Christmas about creating memories that will last a lifetime – because you never know what next year will bring. You can’t bring back time, people or friends – but memories will last forever.

If you are ready to get organized and find all those memories that are lost in your home – give us a call.

540-220-5912