When 3 F's Are Acceptable

If you come into my office and see my desk—you would probably give me an “F”, but not for the reason you may be thinking. Anyone who has ever gone to school knows an “F” is usually associated with a negative response, either from a teacher, your own self-esteem, or the ultimate-- parental disappointment! An “F” is usually written in red and refers to “failed”! Many other words that also start with that letter and have negative connotations, such as, “fall short of”, “fault”, ”fizzle”, “flop”, “false”, “flunk”, “finances”, ”fart” (yes I DID just write that!). Then there are some negative F’s that describe me….” Frizzy Forty-something”, four years to fifty”, & “frequently forgetful”!!!!                                                                                                                                                                                                                

When I was trying to come up with name for my blog, Gary who is sometimes a bit of a Facetious Fireman (yes I actually looked up “F” words to use for that comment), gave me today’s alliteration or title. I really wasn’t sure where he was going with it… until he said in a serious voice “Family, Friends and Faith”!

Wow, he came up with a good one, but not quite the angle I eventually want to go with this blogsite, so I decided to save it for one of the titles of a blog. I chose this week to post this particular one for a number of reasons: one being grades are coming out, it’s Flu season, but mostly because during this time of year it always seems to be about Family, Friends and Faith—preparing for the Holidays.

I truly believe the Fall Season (oh cool that one wasn’t even planned!!!), is such a perfect time of year. As the Holidays approach, we are reminded of spending more time with our loved ones, whether it is Family or Friends or both. Then onto Christmas which is still about those, but with a focus on Faith!!! It seems to be a common denominator in finishing up the year. Just like the Norman Rockwell paintings depicting the perfect scenes. Sure we have other times throughout the year that we may spend time with the F’s—birthdays, Easter and other religious/special holidays, but for Thanksgiving and Christmas time, we seem to be much more focused (again—not planned!) on the 3 good F’s.

Unfortunately, in reality, if this festive functional family & friend gathering is a fantasy for some, or if the thought of this season brings heart palpitations from anxious thoughts of “what if…”-- then that is when you throw in the faith, and you pray for fun amongst the dysfunction! There is always a twist to the perfect holiday or a price to pay.

I hope you are blessed with the 3 good F’s that make this holiday season a fabulous time together. However, if you are “blessed” with the 3 that put the frost in the air during a heat wave….I give you 3 new good F’s: forgetfulness—to help eliminate any distressful moments; forgiveness—to forgive your crazy family member or friend after posting the most embarrassing pictures of you: and food—to save you from having to have the awkward conversations or free you from football games as you prepare the meals.

Whatever words you regard as the Good F’s—keep in mind, Family can sometimes be fastidious; Friends can occasionally be fleeting, but Faith is the formula for FOREVER!