Tradition???? Christmas 2012
Many of our traditions
were interrupted, delayed and changed this year causing frustration,
depression, and ultimately joy!
My first full year of
retirement and I was ready – or almost. Shopping
done early in November, decorating started first week of December, candy and
cookies made – only thing left was wrap presents, my yearly Christmas letter
and cards to mail – I was excited about getting so much done so early. Our tradition has always been to decorate for
Christmas on John’s birthday – December 13 or as we have recently found out
Dec. 12. According to Grandmother he was
born on the 13th a few minutes after midnight but the doctor signed
the birth certificate for the 12th.
Since his birth certificate shows 12th he had to change all
his records to match the certificate – something to do with social security????
But I broke tradition and started
decorating early. But we still had chocolate pie for his birthday dinner.
Since I am getting
older and it takes so long to put up the tree I decided to start decorating the
first week of December. The olive wood
nativity scene that John brought back from Jerusalem in 1995 is always the
priority (with baby Jesus hidden for Cameron to put in the manger on Christmas
morning), next the garage sale find larger nativity scene on the mantel. Then the tree - it took a whole day to just
put the tree together – it is an old one that has individual branches that must
be shaped and then put up one branch at a time.
Every year I say, “this is the
last year I am going to put this thing together.” But the new ones with lights are just not as
real looking as this old tree. After the
tree was up (no lights mind you) the Bible stand on the coffee table and brass
candelabras with maroon candles and the
nativity scene on the mantel, I viewed the simplicity of these three and
thought, “Christmas is Jesus!”
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| Simply about Jesus! |
The
simplicity of the shepherds, angels and wise men viewing the Christ child with
the picture of “The Walk to Emmaus” in the background on the mantel, the Bible
in the center of the coffee table, and the bare Christmas tree.
Jesus has always been the center of our lives as
a family and although traditions were changed causing some frustration at
first, He remained preeminent. This was
the second Christmas without John’s folks around whom most of our traditions
centered. No more celebrating their
anniversary along side Johnny’s birthday on Dec. 23. No more celebrating at their house on
Christmas Eve gathering around grandmother’s tree that had been up and
decorated since Halloween!!! John’s
brother and sister no longer come and spend the night Christmas Eve – in fact
year this year they are probably not coming at all. Uncle Tom had broken his foot – let’s say in
a hunting accident – hunting the ground when he fell out of his tree
stand! So he and Denise were probably
not coming to our house – which has become the gathering place. John’s sister, Gayle, called a few days
before Christmas and said she was so depressed – “It just doesn’t seem like
Christmas this year!” Her son Kelly and
his family would probably not be coming because he had to work so she and her
husband Gene would possibly be going to Alabama to visit them. We knew
our son Tim, wife Shelley and son Mitchell would not be coming for Christmas
due to his work in Michigan.
At my physical in early
December the doctor was so excited to see a healthy person. Her routine questions included if I had a flu
shot or a pneumonia shot. I responded,
“No I did not.” She did not seem
concerned. After a week of visiting her
office again for blood work, the hospital for more routine tests and a trip to
the ER with John for another episode with a possible stone in his bile duct and
then two more doctor’s office trips with him (where people were walking around
with masks????), I came down with the flu.
A quick response from my doctor with tamiflu prescription helped but I
was out of energy to do much for a week.
Another reason to change tradition?
Was I still contagious – should everyone come here? Or was there anyone
to come? And I had not wrapped presents
yet!!!! Then my computer crashed and no
ability to type my Christmas letter which has become a tradition of me
summarizing the year and keeping in touch with friends from long ago.
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| Aunt Gayle's house |
Then John’s sister
Gayle called to say her son Kelly and his family were coming from Alabama
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| Gee paw with twins |
Kelly and Mandy’s three
year old twins, Haddey and Hudson stole the hearts of all of us and made it fun
to buy toys again. The older boys,
Cameron, Kenny and Gavin ate in the basement around Uncle Gene’s museum of Viet
Nam history. Cousins Johnny and wife
Yolanda and Kelly and wife Mandy and our beautiful granddaughter, almost
graduate, Chalonda ate on the porch (thank God for a warm day!) and the older
folks ate around the table and kitchen bar except for the twins who sat at the
kitchen bar with Aunt Denise.
Plenty of
room in that small cozy house! Gayle,
who did not seem to sit down all day, said, “Mother would have loved this!”
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| Papa doing breakfast dishes! |
After a trip back to
the mountains with Johnny’s family we rested for the next morning – the final
Strickland tradition – breakfast at Nana Pat and Papa John’s. White chocolate mocha (Starbuck’s eat your
heart out!) was prepared by Nana and Chalonda, while Papa John cooked the bacon
and sausage and gravy. Johnny cooked the
eggs and Nana made the biscuits. Cameron
set the table, lit all the candles and then warmed up the couch! Yolanda cheered every one on and poured the
juice and put the food on the table. We even Skyped with Tim, Shelley, and
Mitchell as they prepared their Christmas breakfast in Michigan.
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| My girls! |
After the meal Papa John read an unusual
scripture for Christmas from Matthew 25:36 and shared, as only he can, the
story about the servants giving to those in need and Jesus encouraging us that
when we give to others “unto the least of these” it is like giving to him. Nana shared about the “Sparkle Box” where a
family shared on Christmas morning things they had done to help others as a
gift to Jesus on his birthday. She
wanted to start that tradition but since we did not talk about this until today
– she asked that we share around the table about the ways we had seen this
expressed in our lives this year – Cameron playing with his cousin, Chalonda
showcasing her special girls in the cheer squad, Yolanda “passing it forward”
as she purchased a meal for folks behind her, Papa visiting a lonely neighbor,
Nana shopping for an Angel Tree little girl, Johnny sharing with children. It was a special time of everyone
participating in this new tradition. What J O Y!
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| JOY |
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| Cam likes UGA! |
