Christmas Memories 2010

Christmas Eve with Dad

Dad and I in front of the new England Village
Mom and Dad collected these pieces for years...
when Dad moved into Green Acres he brought the set with him.

Linda and Don Christmas Eve

Dad and Linda Christmas Eve

Ken and I opening our card

Dad opening his gift from us
A 16 x 20 picture of our entire family taken Nov. 20, 2010

Dad, Linda and me

Christmas Day at Green Acres  12/25/10

I knew that Christmas 2010 would not be the same without Mom...but I don't think anyone could have prepared me for the sadness in my heart when the eve and day actually arrived. I had a perpetual lump in my throat, tears welled up in my eyes, ready to pour out at the mention of "Merry Christmas" for nearly three days.

Please don't get me wrong...I love Christmas!! I love celebrating Jesus Christ's birth!!! I cherish the memories in my heart that have been made during my lifetime.....but this Christmas...I put on a good front and struggled through.

Christmas Eve was special because Linda and Don came to Dad's apartment where we gathered with them to exchange gifts with Dad.  We all went out to dinner first at Ponderosa in Cadillac.  Special memories had been made there years before!! When our kids were younger...and just before Dad and Mom went off to Florida for the winter they would take us there for supper.

It became an annual "smorgasbord" for almost 20 years!!! Hopefully our boys remember those times:)    So this time we had our smorgasbord...then went back to Dad's apartment #211. We exchanged gifts...remembered good times...and said our goodbyes....

Christmas day we exchanged gifts with Joel and headed over to Dad's for Christmas dinner at Green Acres. Jason, Kurt and their families have established their own Christmas day traditions with their families so for the past several years we have had our "Nichols Christmas" the week before.

They both called us on Christmas Day.....I tried my best...yet  admit I didn't do very well.

 Our Christmas meal was wonderful and the company was delightful!   But deep down was the fact that most Christmas afternoons in my lifetime , this daughter  has "gone home to see her mother". I've been told by many friends that it is common for a daughter to "go home" and for a son to go to his in-laws.... But for me "going home"  has changed.....and over time....I'm sure I will get used to it:(

This year after dinner....we went back to our home....Dad with us....again I was choking back tears as to not upset Dad.  I know he was sad too....as was my sister Linda. We have always been a close knit family.....started out as the "four of us" and growing over the years into "twenty-four of us".  What a beautiful blessing our family has been to us!

I know that so many of you have experienced what I am talking about in your lifetime.  Maybe you have lost a parent, a child, a spouse, a friend.  holidays and special gatherings can seem unbearable during those first few years without your loved one....but by the grace of God...and the comfort HE gives..we will made it through.

We have experienced this before....Ken's Mom passed away 25 years ago...just after Christmas,  Ken's Dad passed away in 2006..right around Thanksgiving...it is never an easy time...but we have the hope of eternal life to see one another again forever...never ending!!!. It makes our time on earth seem like a fleeting moment......

Please accept my apologies for rambling on...but I am grateful I can share this with you....the reality of life and death.....the reality of every day living.

So tomorrow is a new day....a stronger day emotionally day for me! I am thankful for living....I am thankful for the time I can spend with my family and friends...I am thankful for Jesus coming to earth as a baby in a manger.....dying on the cross for our sins....and providing a way for us to be with Him in eternity!!!!  Now that is a reason to celebrate Christmas!!! 

"Nichols Christmas" 12/19/10