This old gal has been very busy and so very grateful. I managed to finally finish the double wedding ring quilt for my oldest grandson and his wife. We delivered it to them last Wednesday . . . Jack cooked up a pot of chili and made grilled cheese sandwiches for us . . we had a good visit and got the grand tour of their beautiful new home. I’m so happy for them. They both work very hard and it is their first home. I also had fun making some special Christmas treats (Giant marshmallows, dipped in chocolate then decorated with sprinkles, coconut etc.) with Colton. I love my family so much.
Monday, the 19th, was our 47th wedding anniversary. We didn’t do anything spectacular, but we enjoyed each other’s company all the day long, did a little of everything and a whole lot of nothing and ate to our heart’s content. I would do it all over again.
Since I was a young child I have adored Christmas and like most kids, the focus was on what I would receive. The true meaning of Christmas was taught in the schools in those days and all the schools put on a Christmas Pageant telling the real Christmas story. Religious hymns were learned in school as well. Though in our household, the real meaning of Christmas wasn’t the focus, it was a time for family, friends, lots of good food and celebrating and enjoying one another.
The older I grow, the more special Christmas is to me. I truly miss having young children around for seeing things through their eyes keeps it all fresh and new for us. . . however, as I have learned to simplify the season more and more, I also enjoy it more and more. For too many years of my life I regret to say, I was far too busy and caught up in the retail and fairy tale fantasy of Christmas but now it is my fondest desire to keep the Spirit of Christmas alive every single day that I live.
Yesterday during church (and for a long time I’ve wished we could have a church meeting on Christmas EVERY year and not just when it falls on a Sunday) I was truly touched by the sweet spirit the message and the carols and hymns bring to me. As we were singing the closing hymm, Silent Night, my thoughts wandered to heaven and I tried to conceive of what a Christmas in Heaven Celebration might be like . . . then I thought of my deceased son and the tears started. At first it was an easy cry, hardly noticeable to anyone, but suddenly I missed him so terribly and the flood of feelings and memories opened the flood gates. Soon I was sobbing and I couldn’t stop.
This year, Christmas dinner was at my daughter’s. She been down in her back so I made desserts and arrived in time to help put the dinner together and also to help cleanup. I love my family sooooo much! We exchanged gifts, frugally as always (NEVER go into debt for gift giving!) and had a pleasant afternoon. I talked with my mother early in the day and wished everyone via Facebook and emails a Merry CHRISTmas. We talked with a couple of good friends . . it was a good day.
Christmas is special every year, but this year it was special because our youngest grandson, TJ, had barely made it home from his deployment in Afghanistan to spend Christmas with us. This Grandmam (as I am called) was so relieved to have him out of that dangerous situation. That was gift enough, and yet nothing can match the gift our Heavenly Father gave to each of us on that First Christmas long ago when Mary tenderly wrapped that first present in swaddling bands and laid him in a KING sized bed, a lowly manger. It is my desire to keep Christmas in my heart and in my life. Merry CHRISTmas to one and all, today and forever.
