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By on Jan 11, 2017 |

Last year, January 5th-9th, my daughter and I went to visit my son in sunny Florida. We got on a plane in Tennessee where it was 27 degrees and emerged in Fort Lauderdale 6 hours later, a sunny 85 degrees and palm trees lining the drive. What a treat! We had a great visit. They played tennis, I shopped, we went to the beach, my daughter and I took a jewelry class, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. We hated to leave. We had brunch on the last day outside a cute deli and when we got off the plane in Memphis at 6 pm it was 30 degrees and sleeting rain. We headed for home which is an hour and a half from the airport in this sleet thinking this sure was a rude awakening. We drove on the interstate about 30 minutes, then the light on the dash said, Caution: Low Tire Pressure Left Front Tire. Now it officially stunk to be back home. I got off the interstate, stopped at three gas stations...

Grief and Christmas Part 2

By on Jan 3, 2017 |

It’s January 3rd.  I have been wanting to share my experience of Christmas Day for over a week and I am just now able to actually write about it.  I tried once last week and I deleted the whole thing.  I knew what my feelings felt like but I couldn’t think of the right words to describe them. What made December 25th different from another day, say December 12th?  It’s because I  have no specific memories of any December 12th. There is nothing emotional, personal, or exciting about December 12th.  But December 25th is an entirely different story.  It really starts with the days leading up to it.  Memories of Christmases past crept into my brain.  As I got ready for bed Christmas Eve, turning off the lights, filling stockings, and neatening up, I almost dreaded going to sleep knowing that this Christmas would be different. We opened gifts with our adult children and that was...

Grief and Christmas

By on Dec 20, 2016 |

Countdown. 4 days until Christmas. Thoughts of Christmases past flash through my mind. Small children out of their minds with excitement and trying so hard to be “good” to atone for their “bad” behavior since the last Christmas and hoping that Santa has a short memory. The excitement of waiting at the top of the stairs waiting for the all clear to come down to see what Santa left. Of course, as the four kids turned into young adults the excitement changed into cherishing the memories of their younger selves and the traditions that had always been part of the holiday. Two years ago, we awoke on Christmas morning with four young adults. This year, two are married, one is in college, and one is in Heaven. It is definitely a different kind of holiday this year. There doesn’t seem to be a need to make a bunch of sweets when two of the three living in this house watch their carbs. No one...