Merry Christmas!

Mom has played the piano and organ for the Veterans Domiciliary Chapel for 34 years, all holidays included. I have grown up attending this church every Sunday and Christmas, sitting in the front pew next to my father. From a very young age I performed pieces on the violin, piano and singing for the gracious Veteran congregations. This year, with Mom on the piano bench, I joined her once again this time with by sweet husband by my side. We took our song book and I sang some classic Christmas pieces before the service started. So much has changed over the years; the building, the pastor and the decorations and yet ,many things have remained the same. The hymns, the Biblical story and even the nativity scene is one I have gazed upon my entire life.
It was an evening rich in memories... new and old.

Christmas day was spent baking and cooking and get ready for this....I loved it! Steve and I spent days reading over recipe books, picking out yummy ingreduents and creating a savory menu. With the cost of getting home, we didn’t exchange gifts this year, so the meal was our gift to each other and to those that joined us.

Mom supplied a Harry and David turkey; serenaded by Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby and the jazz musicians from the Blue Note, we made sweet potatoes with apples drenched in butter and brown sugar, roasted beets, green beans, stuffing, cabbage salad, deviled eggs, Waldorf salad and a home-made pumpkin spiced loaf for dessert.
We invited Mom and Dad’s friends John and Mary Beatty for dinner and after dinner our neighbor’s across the street, John, Shirley and Rob, joined us for dessert. We ended the evening with all of us singing Christmas carols while drinking eggnog and spiced cider. When all went home...Steve and I drove Mom back to Talent. (She had had only three hours of sleep the night before and has been known to fall asleep at the wheel.) Steve and I came back to a quiet house and a slew of dirty dishes. When the last platter was tucked away in its spot we sat down with a glass of eggnog (laced with whiskey) and stayed up till midnight talking about life. I loved it. The entire day was joy.


Side Note:
This is the first Christmas holiday that I have spent away from Drew. I really had to make up my mind not to let his absence negatively affect our holiday. Not a second goes by that I didn’t think of him or wish that he could have been with us. I talk to him every day and he is having a great time with his dad. It is some comfort to know that if he can’t be with us, at least he is enjoying himself. A special Merry Christmas to my sweet son, Andrew.