xmas reflections
first, i'd like to say thanx to all those that put such hard work into making the chatterbox such a successful endeavor. i've learned alot from the people who attend and forged what i consider some nice friendships there. thus, i feel the need to do this, i'm kinda losing my mind here at the moment...
about 11 years ago, i lost my grandmother on xmas eve. it took a long time for the family to recover from that. as a result, when we would go to dinner on the other side of town at my uncle's, we always stopped by the gravesite to wish my gramma a merry xmas. but it wasn't quite the same...
my mom's health hadn't quite been that spectacular since she had a quad bypass a couple years back, i've seen people recover from them, but i guess since she had diabetes, it was more difficult for her. she never really was 100pct since then. over the last month or so, she had been feeling really good she told us. she'd been very excited about preparing for the coming xmas. she needed some help, as she still wasn't able to get around like she used to. she spent dec 23, the whole day, surrounded by my father, one of my sister's, younger brother and his wife, making cookies. it was the last thing left to do before she was completely ready for xmas.she spent most of the time just keeping conversation while everyone helped make them. she would nod off now and then,from some pain killers she had been perscribed, but refused to go take a nap. this went on for most of the day. finally around 10 oclock at nite when the cookies were done, my brother and father helped her to bed. my father went downstairs to work, and everyone else had gone home. as xmas eve arrived,around midnite, i got a call that my mother had passed away in her sleep. i went to the house. i'm still in a state of shock. it seems so unfair to have to go thru this again at such a time. as they wwre taking her out of the house, we had wandered out onto the front lawn. there on the lawn, was a dove. as one of my brothers approached it, it just stared back. it did not leave until the funeral vehicle pulled away. i took this as a sign that she'll forever be in a better place.
all i ask of each of you is to remember what xmas is really about. as my mother would have wished we tried to go thru xmas as best we could. it was her's and her mother's favorite time of year and what she would have wanted us to do.
when you see your loved ones, hold them a little longer, and squeeze them a little tighter for me. i'm not sure my xnas's will ever be the same
i love you mom
greg |
