Sometimes memories sneak out of my eyes and roll down my cheeks. unknown

Oh yes, especially this time of the year.  I can go back almost 70 years worth of them.

Christmas is a time of remembering.  Putting the tree up always leads to tears as I pull out treasured ornaments.  Ornaments that were made by little hands and big hands when times were tough.  Ornaments given by friends and family.  Ornaments that proclaimed a first Christmas.  So many.  It takes me hours to decorate a tree because I have to remember each one and it's history.  

There are boxes of hand carved Santas in the attic. They were done by my Dad.  I did not use them last year and this year I am not using them. They had sat out along with ceramic and other types of Santas for a great many years.  While I was semi-healthy last Christmas, I decorated in red ribbons and brown paper.  This year it seems more important to just do a little decorating and enjoy the moments of the season.  So I made no plans to do anything spectacular.  The hand carved ducks, Dad again, grace the mantel and I'll give them all a red bow and some greenery underneath them.  A tree and a wreath for the door will be the extent of it. I am enjoying not trying to come up with a theme and work myself to distraction. 

As the memories come flooding back, I will be remembering my Mom who passed this year along with my Dad who has been gone for 14 years.  There will be moments of my grandparents and the wonderful, easy times of my childhood.  

People get so wrapped up in buying and partying they forget the meaning of Christmas.  Besides being the celebration of our Saviors birth, it is a time to remember, a time to build relationships and be thankful.  I know that I am so grateful for this Christmas when early on I was not sure I would be well enough to enjoy it or even alive to celebrate.