I know that we get caught up in the, “what am I getting so and so”, and the proverbial, “how am I going to afford all of this?”. Once you’ve played those thoughts in your head over and over, Christmas almost begins to feel like a chore in a sense. I know all too well from growing up in a single parent household as the middle child that certain compromises during this time of year would have to be made. My mom would say,”Do you guys want gifts or our traditional Seafood Gumbo?”. Of course my sisters and I would vote for our traditional Gumbo because that’s a tradition we hold close this time of year. But, my mom being the Super Hero she is, some how would find a way to still give us gifts for Christmas. Like I’ve said in previous posts, there’s a special place in Heaven for my mom. While we didn’t have the lavish Christmases our friends did, we had each other. Corny, but true.
This year we had a loss in our family during the worst time of year to experience something so sad. Grief is a very strange emotion. You think you know how you’re going to handle something, but then BOOM !! There you are.... a wreck. You can’t speak to that person anymore when the thought of them comes to mind. But, through everything you have to see the beauty in things. That’s the only way to live. I mean that with my entire being. You see, my Mother, Aunt and Uncle haven’t spent Christmas together in their entire adult years. This year, with the passing of their Mother (my Grandma), they’ve finally reunited and are being given the gift of .... each other. My heart is so full with the experience of being able to spend this holiday season at my Grandma’s table sharing childhood stories with my Mom, sisters, cousin, Aunt and Uncle. My Grandma really gave us all the best Christmas gift ever through her passing. She gave us each other and with that was the gift of Nostalgia. For that I will forever be grateful. Thank you Grandma.
With love to you all,
Cathy
