My favorite personal story about Christmas and my Dad would have to be the year my Mom told me, that I was getting a special Christmas gift from my Dad. She told me, I would know exactly which one it was when I opened it. She told me the story that they had been out shopping for Christmas, and Dad had gone and picked out this gift for me. He told my Mom that he had to buy it for me, "just in case I ever forgot." I eagerly awaited Christmas morning. Mom was right, I knew as soon as I opened the gift that it was the one from my Dad. It was a sterling silver charm for my bracelet, it said, "I LOVE YOU."
I just had my bracelet out a couple weeks back and shared the story of that charm with my daughter!! As I sit here remembering that Christmas gift, I cannot help but feel happy and sad at the same time. As an adult, I will never forget how much my Dad loved all of his children, though it has been many many years since I last heard him echo those words. <deep breath, fighting the tears, I miss him>
I have to share some other things here, I hope nobody minds.
I was thinking about my parents and the sacrifices they made for us kids, in an effort to make Christmas special. When I was in middle school/high school, my dad was a cancer patient. At the time I was not aware of how great a sacrifice my parents made for us. My Dad was unable to work because of his health issues. Money was very scarce for us. In an effort to be able to have a Christmas for us children, my parents delivered telephone books. Thousands of them in the North Hills area of Pittsburgh. As if that was not sacrifice enough, little did I know that at the time my Dad was also undergoing daily radiation treatments for his cancer of the oral cavity. He was unable to eat much of anything due to the radiation burns in his mouth and face. He had lost all his teeth, and was unable to wear his dentures because of the cancer treatments. My parents went every morning so Dad could get his radiation treatments, and when they were done, they left the hospital to deliver the phone books, returning home just in time for us 4 kids to get home from school. Then Dad would sleep. I did not know this until years later, but during that time, Dad stayed awake all night. He was afraid of dying in his sleep, so he would only sleep when Mom was nearby and awake. My Dad was an amazing man!! My Mom is pretty awesome as well!!!
<previously posted on another thread by me> |
