Okay....my tree is up, yard decorations are in the yard, Christmas Songs are in my head, Christmas cards have been mailed, kids Christmas pictures were taken and already picked up, Christmas shopping is 99% complete, Christmas Gifts are 75% wrapped....Santa's toys are hidden anywhere from my husband's workplace to various hiding places in our neighboorhood (hopefully we'll remember where we hid everything come 3:00am Christmas Day).....0% of Santa's toys have been assembled....Church Christmas Program is planned out, Calendar/Schedule of our Christmas Marathon is pretty well all worked out (but if the Moguls are in the playoffs, the calendar/schedule is subject to change!)....the list could go on and on....
As the holiday season approaches, I can't help to think about the years when my Grandma Brown was alive. Although she's been gone for 3 years, it's still hard to imagine having Christmas without her. As far as I can remember, she MADE Christmas Christmas.(That's sounds funny and looks funny after typing it, but it's how I say it!!) Yes, I know Jesus is the reason for the season, but it's just not the same without her here!! For twenty five years, I always remember arriving at her house around 5:00 on Christmas Eve. After our delicious supper, we all sat around in the living room singing Christmas carols as we anticipated the ringing of the door bell by Santa Claus.
For as long as I can remember, Santa was always the same Santa (with the exception of one year when our traditional SANTA was sick, so we had a fill-in that was a truck driver from RAS...it just wasn't the same, and another year, my cousin's fiance decided he would fill in for Santa...)....Over the years Santa learned all of our names and could identify which grandkid was which (even the ones that were from Ft. Worth and Sulphur Springs!!!) This Special Santa was part of our family Christmas. When my Grandma passed away, Santa even signed the guest book at the funeral home 'Santa', aka Jerry Gray). Santa would pass out everyone's goodies, then we would exchange gifts, play Chinese Christmas, etc. After gifts, the younger kids would play with their new toys while the not-so-young people would sit around and visit, drink hot cider and munch on goodies from the goodie table until we almost made ourselves sick. We always concluded the evening by attending midnight mass.
When Grandma was alive, my sisters and I would go over to her house and help her bake all the goodies during the week prior to Christmas. We learned which bowl/spoon you were supposed to use for each particular goodie. We even knew where she hid the Millionaires from her son-in-laws. After Grandma passed away, my sisters and I started a tradition of getting together one weekend in December to bake all the goodies that we used to make with Grandma.
All these memories are so fresh in my head because this coming weekend is the weekend my sisters and I will be baking. Tonight, as I started to write down the list of everything we would be making, I couldn't do it without getting all teary eyed b/c it reminds me once again that this Christmas will just not be like the Christmases I had when she was alive.
I was tagged earlier today by another blogger....the challenge question was to name an age that I wish I could go back to.
Answer to that question:
I would like to go back about 3 years ago when Grandma was alive. I would have liked for Dustin and Eryn to have had an opportunity to know my Grandma and experience at least one family Christmas with her. Emily was lucky b/c she celebrated three Christmases with her. Dustin and Eryn will only be able to hear about how Christmas was when I was a child or look at the many pictures from my family's Christmas celebrations.
Yes, I love the life I'm living right now. I love everything about it. I love my family, friends, church, etc. I'm blessed in many many ways. I just wish that Grandma was still here to enjoy life with us!
Now I'm going on with the tag.........I'm going to tag Dustin and Eryn's Weekday Mom
2 comments:
whew...now i see why this made your mom cry!
You are so tender-hearted. It's obvious that your grandmother passed on not only a love for cooking, but the inspiration to make your home special. As I read through your family cookbook, I get a real sense of tradition and love. What a legacy she left behind, teaching you all how to care for your families through delicios food. It seems to be a dying art. I am constantly inspired by you and your ability to show how much you care through sharing the art your grandmother (and mother) taught you.
I'm thankful for your grandmother because in part, you are who you are because of her! She would be so proud to see how well you are loving your family and raising 3 beautiful children!
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