This was a strange Christmas – not being able to go shopping for presents and not having the family gathered around the table for dinner. Thinking about it reminded me of another strange Christmas.
The year was 1985. My husband Pat had died a few months earlier and I wasn’t looking forward to Christmas without him. I certainly didn’t feel like shopping and we didn’t have any money for Christmas presents anyway, as were drowning in hospital bills
But it turned out to be a beautiful Christmas!
I made our usual turkey dinner; mostly for the sake of my 6 children. They got creative and went thru their closets and found items to wrap and give as “recycled” presents – including a puzzle with one piece missing – which became a popular recycled gift for many Christmases.
After dinner we gathered around the tree. I don’t remember where or how we got the tree, or exactly what it looked like – except for the star on top, leaning precariously to one side. But I do remember the beautiful feeling; the soft glow of lights, the warmth, and the love that prevailed. I think we all knew that Pat’s spirit was still with us – not just in memory, but in the way we felt his love, and sensed his joy, remembering his deep faith in God and belief in the true meaning of Christmas.
Fast forward to 2020 – which, surprisingly, turned out to be another beautiful Christmas!
My husband Jim and I have been married now for 27 years and our combined 7 children and 13 grandchildren are spread out across the country; but thanks to phone and facetime we were able to share a little bit of the day with each of them. Since we weren’t going to stores, I brought back the tradition of “recycled” presents and sent each of them books or other items that they remembered from the past.
Fortunately, one or our sons lives only an hour away, so on Christmas morning we drove our camper over to their house. He had set up a fire pit in the driveway and my daughter-in-law made a delicious Crème Brulee French toast breakfast which we all enjoyed while maintaining a safe distance around the fire. As we were exchanging presents, big snow flakes started to fall and it seemed like a scene from a Christmas movie.
That evening I made our traditional Christmas dinner, even though it was just for Jim and myself. We sat there in the glow of our Christmas tree lights (with that same star on top) grateful for our life together, for our families, for all of our memories.
Yes, it was a beautiful Christmas because, even from a distance, we shared the love of family - and remembered God's message of love and peace and hope which is the true meaning of Christmas!
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