The Ghosts of Christmas Past

Tru Stories accuses me of not having Christmas Spirit. I really do love Christmas. The problem is, I get caught up in Christmas Pasts. That can make me sad.

Growing up we celebrated and opened gifts on Christmas Eve. Santa would come in the afternoon. All my brothers and their families would come home. We had our big Christmas dinner and after all the dishes were done, we opened presents. There were so many presents!! My Dad loved Christmas. He did not love getting gifts. He loved giving gifts. He would buy his own gifts to give. We had some very special parties. After our gifts were opened friends would stop by. One Christmas Eve we had a great surprise. My brother was in the service. No one knew he was coming home. He just showed up. My Mom was so happy.

After my Dad passed away, Christmas was hard for me. He really was the heart of Christmas at our house. I was in junior high. It just wasn't the same. We continued to celebrate on Christmas Eve until I had been married a few years. My brothers lived out of town. They wanted to establish their own traditions. That was when my family started celebrating the Saturday before Christmas. My Mom was not happy about it. But what was important, and still is important is that we keep our family meeting at Christmas. We want our kids and our grandkids to continue to celebrate together.

The last Christmas my Mom was alive she was in the hospital. The last time I saw her was Christmas Eve. It was not a happy visit. My family still met for Christmas that year. We still met for Christmas the year my brother passed away right before Christmas. Because, we never want that tradition broken. That party with my siblings and our families is the tie to our past. It does not matter if we meet in a pizza place, the American Legion, the VFW, or this year even the bowling alley. What matters is that we meet.

I still think of the Ghosts of Christmas past. The family that is no longer with us. The special times we had with our kids when they were young. Our first little house and the GIANT Christmas tree. Many special times in our other house. I only want joy in our new house at Christmas. We have new traditions. We have little ones to fill our Christmas with joy.

Tonight we were at Tru Stories. The house my husband grew up in. We had some big family celebrations in that house. It was a small, quiet celebration tonight. Exchanging a few gifts. Letting the kids open their stockings. Tru Stories and Coach have made it their home. The house does not look the same. It is so comfortable. It fits their family perfectly.

This is our Christmas present. The young kids filled with wonder and excitement. Coco wanting everything Tink got. Tink lobing it all. The Kid happy to have us all together. This is the new stage in our life. It is a great one. Sharing the holidays with the beautiful home and family our daughter has created. It is a great part of parenting. The next stage.

I don't know what the future holds. There will always be change. Some easy to handle. Some changes that knock that wind out of us. It is all part of life.

The tree above is our new tree. Just a little artificial tree. We have two. The kids helped us decorate. We added butterflys and birds to the tree this year. It is not a matchie, matchie tree. It is a fun tree for the kids. I over shopped. Could not help myself. Cannot wait to see the little ones open their gifts tomorrow. This year I am filled with Christmas Spirit. I have enjoyed it all!

Merry Christmas to all of you! I hope Santa is very good to you!