What a wonderful time of the year. A time of year full of activities with
friends & family. A time of year
that is spent with special people in our lives.
Christmas has always
been my favorite time of the year.
Growing up I was always busy with family, school &
church activities, my favorite was always the Christmas program at church, of
course back then it was the same every year.
Oh…and how about buying those cheesy gifts for the gift exchange at
school. And the fabulous 2 week
Christmas vacation … and Snow, lots of snow.
We always had lots of snow. One
year I had the chicken pox during Christmas vaca and one year I had my tonsils
removed.
Christmas was very special. I remember some years I would
wake of at 3am and sneak out to the living room to see if Santa had been there
yet. I always had everyone up by 6am if
not 5am. We would open our gifts and
then head out to Grandma & Grandpa’s.
Grandma would have a huge Christmas breakfast for us. Eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, biscuits &
gravy, grapefruit, fresh squeezed orange juice and more.
And then I had to
grow up …
While my kids were here we followed the same tradition that
I grew up with. I would start
decorating the house inside & out after Thanksgiving. I would set a baking day and bake & make
all kinds of cookies & candies.
Christmas cards would go out with the traditional Christmas
Newsletter. And at least one night of
the Christmas season we would drive around and look at Christmas lights. On
Christmas morning, sometimes at 3am, I would hear my babies sneak into the
living room to see if Santa had been there yet. The kids would wake me up early just as I
did, we would open gifts and then head to Grandma & Grandpa’s for that
yummy traditional breakfast.
And then Grandma had
to go home …
Ok…I can handle this right … I can take over the traditional
Christmas breakfast…So be it and the tradition was modified a bit.
And then my babies
had to grow up …
It’s been 8 years since my youngest left home. The first few years both of my kids lived in
the area, so we carried on a modified version of the Christmas tradition.
And then Grandpa had
to go home …
O…geez…another hitch in the Christmas tradition that I held
so dear to my heart.
And then life took
both of the kids out of state.
It’s been 4 years since we’ve been together on
Christmas.
So…what does a single woman do on Christmas??? Good question. One year I spent with a friend at his Mom’s
house. Very uncomfortable. Apparently some families don’t like outsiders
intruding on their traditions. The last
2 years I spent alone, expecting company that didn’t show, ending up sad &
disappointed, feeling like I didn’t matter, unimportant.
And then I had to
begin a new tradition …
This year is different.
We have all heard it said that our happiness shouldn’t depend on anyone
else. Well, instead of waiting, hoping
someone would notice me, hoping that someone would want to spend Christmas with
me, I am beginning a new tradition. I
have reached out to some Pastors and asked if they know anyone that is alone of
Christmas…I actually got a couple of responses! I am going to pop by their homes, drop off a
little gift, a hug and a prayer. I just
want to let them know that they are not alone on Christmas, they haven’t been
overlooked or forgotten but that they do matter, they are important… they are
important to me.
And when …
Life changes, kids grow up, families get smaller. Sometimes
our traditions need to be modified and sometimes they die with our elders. When life, things or people put a hitch in
your giddy up … EMBRACE IT and make it even better than before!
Saved By Grace♥Changed By Love
♥Cindy♥
