Christmas is a time for giving....I was taught this at a young age. Not so much "giving" as in buying presents...but giving of "self"...what is within my heart.Reflecting back on my past Christmas' growing up, my parents did not buy us everything we wanted...they did everything they could just to pay the bills and keep food on the table with 6 growing kids. So the gifts we received were so very special to us, as they were given with so much love! We had the love of each other...and that made our Christmas bright!
I remember one year when I was in high school...about 13 years old, and it was right after Christmas. Some of the kids were talking about what they received as gifts...listing all they received. They looked at the pretty new blouse I was wearing & asked if I received that for Christmas. I proudly answered, "Yes! My sister and her husband gave this to me!" They looked at me with an inquisitive look and said, "Gee...how do you remember who gave you what present? I don't know who gave me my gifts!" and they laughed at me. I felt so bad for them...not for myself! I remember thinking how sad that was that they didn't know who the giver of their gifts were, after all the thought that goes into purchasing a Christmas gift! I knew at that point that my parents had, indeed, given me a very special gift at a very young age! A gift is a token of love that you aren't entitled to just because it's Christmas...it is a gift from the heart!
My father LOVED Christmas! When I was a child, he would wake us up in the wee hours of the morning by standing at the bottom of the stairs and in a very loud voice say "HO! HO! HO!" and announce the arrival of Santa! When we were all up out of bed & unwrapping the gifts, he would go back to sleep and leave our mother up to tend to 6 very excited children! He was a big kid at heart! We were so saddened by his death in September of 1985...but our mother wanted us to keep the tradition of Christmas going...in his memory. And we did. We knew every year that our dad was still there with us every Christmas, we could feel his love!
It was three years later on December 20, 1988 that our mother passed away. We were devastated! First dad, now mom...and right before Christmas!! We didn't feel much like celebrating that year, suffice it to say...but we did...for our parents. We were numb...it was almost surreal, but we gathered and celebrated...and shared our gift of love. We needed it that year more than ever! And once again, we could feel our parents there with us...letting us know that to carry on their tradition is to keep their love and their memory alive.
My siblings and I gather each year to celebrate Christmas and to spend time with each other...to catch up on each other's lives, and to see their growing children. It is a tradition in our family that my parents started when we were very small. Now that our mother and father have passed away, it is even more important for us to gather...it is to honor our parents and to make sure that their gift of love remains alive and well in our hearts and souls. I wait in eager anticipation for this day each year, not for the presents wrapped up in their beautful paper with ribbons and bows, but to spend a few precious hours with my sisters and brother and their families! With the passing years our family has grown with marriages, and babies...and with each new member, the love strengthens and grows and the tradition is passed on to each of the children...our special gift to them that was started by our parents!
I share this story with you as a special Christmas gift....the gift of LOVE! May it warm your heart and touch your soul...and pass the greatest gift of all around to your family and friends!
On behalf of myself, Rev. Susan and my husband, Rev. Burt...and my sisters and brother... Kathie, Karol, Kolleen, Mark and Bridget....and from their families... and in loving memory of our parents, Richard and Joanne...
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