Sunday, December 27, 2009

Christmas 2009

When children grow up, change is inevitable. I have a son in Florida, a daughter fifteen miles away from home, a grandson in Atlanta, and a granddaughter in Arkansas. Some day I will have four more grandchildren who no longer live with their parents. This year we spent Christmas in Florida, which worked out okay since our daughter, who only lives a few miles away, could not have made it to our house due to a record snowstorm.

For years, we were unable to celebrate Christmas with our own parents because we lived west of or in the Great Plains, notorious for blizzards and closed roads. On one occasion, my husband's boss was returning on the train to Glasgow, Montana in the winter. All the able-bodied men had to help dig out ice and snow from the train wheels so the train could travel a few more miles. Another time, a state trooper drove my husband to the local airport from the airport a hundred miles away because ours was closed due to ice and snow. There was no way we dared risk our lives to go home for Christmas. So our Christmas was our little family until we were stationed closer to home.

Now we alternate between our spending Christmas with our daughter and son. The day is quickly approaching when grandchildren will figure into the equation.

This year we shared Christmas with our son's friends and neighbors. We shared holiday foods and music with Jewish friends, Italian traditions, Cuban music, and people from several regions of the company. It was a fun and new way to celebrate.

I'm looking forward to many more Christmases celebrated in different ways with our ever growing family.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Ah, Christmas memories are wonderful, aren't they. So, are those of beginning a new year.