Merry Christmas!
Today is Christmas Eve. For many, it’s the last few hours of shopping available before the big day tomorrow. For some, you’re already done and starting your celebrations with family. I hope whatever your plans, you are taking some time to enjoy the season and spend some time with family and friends.
Our holidays are going to be a bit quiet this year. We’ve already done the family Christmas gathering with the kids in the family. It was a lot of fun to have everyone here. As I watched the group, chatting and opening presents, I found myself reminded that many of our traditions are things we have carried on from those who aren’t with us this year. For many years, we have pictures of the littlest child helping Gram open her presents. This year, the smallest one was helping me. And while I’m not yet the oldest in the family, I’m getting close and it was fun to have that reminder. Henderson and I plan to attend a Christmas Eve service this evening and then have a quiet dinner at home tomorrow. I’m rather looking forward to the quiet, relaxing day.
I know that many of you are celebrating your first Christmas without a loved one, who will be greatly missed this year. I’m doing the same and have found a great deal of comfort in watching for those things that show the influence she had over how we do things today. I love that my niece still makes Gram’s pumpkin bread every year. I make her pies. She loved Christmas lights and decorations and we certainly learned a lot from her about enjoying those things. Take a minute to just remember that special person to you. For me, I don’t believe my grandmother is sad anymore. I believe she’s having her very first Christmas in Heaven with my grandfather, someone she missed greatly over the years. And yes, I believe she’s watching us down here and glad that we, too, are still celebrating.
If you have kids in your family, enjoy those moments of wonder. It is one of my favorite things about Christmas, the look of wonder and excitement on the children’s faces. They exude pure excitement this time of year and I always enjoy seeing that. They just seem to tingle with excitement, waiting for Santa to arrive.
So today and tomorrow, wherever you are spending your days and however you are celebrating, I wish you a very Merry Christmas! Soon we will begin a new year in the book that is our life. I am grateful for each and every one of you who come here to read and participate in discussions. Merry Christmas!
Tagged with: Christmas • holidays
Filed under: Holidays
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Merry Christmas! We celebrate tonight with our traditional Christmas Eve meal of chili, crisp rolls and a variety of cheeses, with a selection of ice creams for dessert…the only kink in our traditional meal was 2 years ago when our daughter became a vegan. Now Ed makes regular chili and vegan chili. She can eat the rolls but we buy her non-dairy butter, and we get her some vegan ice cream as well. Our daughter-in-law is baking a vegan cake. We just make do with everyone’s diet restrictions….the main thing is being together with family.
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