My Favorite Time of the Year

Thanksgiving is over and I will say that even though mine was quiet, it was very nice.  Both of my daughters were unable to come home this year so I spent most of the day with my good friends and neighbors.  Spike and I split the cooking chores and between us put together a very good dinner.  We kept it simple with a turkey roast, mashed potatoes and gravy from the roast, corn, dressing, Waldorf salad and cranberry sauce and of course rolls.  Since we were only cooking for three, there weren't a lot of leftovers but I had my fill plus.  I don't know why our eyes are always bigger than our stomachs on these feast days.  So after a respectable time and some good visiting, I excused myself to come home leaving most of the leftovers for their late night supper.  I admit I took a nap which probably wasn't the wisest thing after a meal but I was sleepy and I admit I had a good nap and was feeling chipper when I awoke so got busy getting the tree set up so I could decorate it.

I had put the outside decorations up over the past couple of weeks when I could get a nice day to work outside.  The timers were set and as the sun went down, they clicked on the colorful display.  All the lights had been checked out and everything was working but naturally the night they were to come on for all to see, I had a couple of burn outs so today will have to make the repairs and keep fingers crossed they will work tonight.

Now one thing I refuse to do during this holiday frenzy that is up on us now is the "Black Friday".  It has been years since I've fought the crowds on this day to end up buying one thing on a list of several items and getting irritated at the shoving and waiting in line.  I decided I would go back to my idea of buying throughout the year and finding things on sale during the year and stay home during this day of so called "bargains".   Years ago I got up at 4 AM to get ready to go out with my daughters.  We had to drive to the nearest town about 30 miles away and then when we got there, stood in line, fought the crowds inside, lost each other and think we only came out with one item we were after since they were limited and we just weren't first in line.  I decided right then that this is not the way to shop and never went again.

So now, the frenzy is on as we head towards Christmas.  I'm sure there will be more sales and more enticements but for me I've decided to be old fashioned and make several of the gifts I'll be giving.  I have had to purchase a few but I'm still keeping it simple.  In these hard times, I really can't afford luxurious gifts plus most of my family have what they want so I think it will be a pleasant change to give them something totally unexpected and made with love.  Maybe we can all get back to the real meaning of Christmas.

So today I will be putting the finishing touches on the tree and decorating inside the house.  I will admit when it comes to decorating, I might go a little overboard but I just love all the colors and lights and sounds of Christmas and yet I always make sure that the real reason we are celebrating is prominently displayed.  

I have my grandparents Nativity which I put out each year and have bought or received other Nativities through out the years, so all will be displayed on the library table with the open Bible to the story of the blessed birth.  This has become a tradition with my decorating and always in a prominent area so it can be viewed and the story read.

I know for some this has been a sad and trying year and that there will be an empty chair at the table.  This is the second year of our empty chair but we have not forgotten and try to include him in our holiday celebration.  We have a special ornament on the tree and we have our memories of the past which we seek comfort from.   Fill that empty chair with your memories and know that our loved ones are watching over us and are with us in spirit.

I want to wish all my family and friends a very Merry Christmas and that you will find the love and comfort of this season and celebrate the birth of our Savior.  Remember he is the reason for this season and we shouldn't forgot him at this time.

11-11-11

11-11-11.  A memorable date in our history but also a very memorable one in my life.  It is Veteran's Day and I thank all the veteran's in this nation for their service and dedication.  But it is also the anniversary of the day I married my husband.

He was in the Navy and it just happened that he got a leave during this time and the 11th happened to fall on a Saturday in 1961.  Since he had just returned from a 10 month cruise to the east and would be making another long one, we decided we were going to be married.  We really didn't think too much about it being Veteran's Day until later.

We first met in 1957 and dated off and on for over a year.  Of course, I was only 14 1/2 when we met so was pretty young to his 16, almost 17 years, but we dated and we got pretty serious.  Maybe that is why we broke up as we both were too young to make that big commitment.  My family moved from the area in 1959 and I lost track of him.  

I went to visit my aunt and uncle in Wichita in September 1961 and I wanted to find out about him so contacted his family.  I learned that he had been looking for me as well before he joined the Navy.  I got his address and we began writing and he called me a couple of times and then he got a leave and came to flew in to Kansas City on November 7, where my dad and I went to pick him up.  It had been over 2 1/2 years since we had seen each other, even though we just recently started corresponding and talking on the phone, but there was something that happened when we did see each other that day.  It was if the time had stopped and we had been together always.

We talked and talked and decided since he would be making another long cruise, that we wanted to get married and when he got back we would move to Alameda where he was based.  He was 21 and I was 18 and I think both of our families knew that we were going to get married so really weren't that surprised but maybe because it was in such a short time.  We got our license and talked to the pastor of a church near by and on Saturday, November 11, 1961, we exchanged our vows with just our family present.

He left on November 16, so we only had a few days together but it seemed as if the time we had been apart was forgotten.  We felt as if we were just picking up where we left off.

I wrote a letter to put on the special flower that I will place on his grave today.  In that letter I wrote, "Years ago, the stars aligned and brought us together in ways we didn't know at first, but as we grew and after we met, we discovered how many times in our lives that our paths had crossed and how we both were set on this path to be together."

He was born in southeast Nebraska and I was born in southwest Iowa, not many miles apart.  Our families had made acquaintances before we were born and in later years, the families both moved to Wichita where we lived next door to one another.  Even the years we were apart, there was this bond that we would remember each other and when the opportunity came, I knew I had to find him just as he had looked for me.

I truly believe that it was meant to be that we would be together and for forty eight years we worked together to raise our two daughters, to love and support them and each other.  True, like any marriage, we had our little bumps in the road but the one thing that stayed true was our love for each other and our fidelity to each other.   We were soul mates from the first meeting until the very end.

His passing took a part of me with him and I only wish the fate hadn't been so cruel to separate us after all those years together.  He looked forward to this date as it was a milestone for both of us.  We would have celebrated our 50th anniversary with all the love we had for one another and looked forward to more years together.  He used to say that in this day and age, we were the unusual, we stayed together and honored our vows and fifty years is something to celebrate.

So today, I will celebrate, but it will be with the memories I have of the life we shared.  He was my first and my only true love and he was my friend and my confident, my rock but most of all he was my husband who loved me as much as I loved him.

Happy 50th Anniversary Honey.   ILYTMTYLTT  "Angel"