Family and Christmas Cheer

Ok, these might not be the usual Christmas Stockings, but these are what we used, Kay used the 'tights' for me and I filled a 'boot' for her stuffers and the plants were as close to 'greenery' that we had on hand. Now it is unusual for us Not to put up our Usual Christmas decorations, but as we were so busy, time slipped away from us and before we knew it, it's a few days before.

It's just that we were both so busy with so much coming and going that in the evening or weekends we were involved with other things. Kay had told me that 'she wanted gifts to open' and since we didn't drag out the tree, we needed something to put our stocking stuffers in, so we improvised.

Trinity's older sisters would be staying with them during the holidays so we tried to make the most of their visit. Actually her oldest sister, Crystal, is going full time to VSU and the other sister, Michelle, is a Captain in the Army stationed in Germany. We all had dinner on Christmas Eve where we shared the table with Trinny's grandparents and uncle and of course her other grandmothers, MeMaw and BG and then we opened gifts. It has been a long time since we watched children or grandchildren open Christmas presents together. Colleen knitted Kay a Grandmother's Shawl with colored yarn for each grandchild's birth month, and she gave me a beautiful scarf with a pin.

I wanted so much for my daughter to meet Crystal and Michelle, and since "M" was leaving today, we arranged for lunch for everyone yesterday. Julie was running errands but said she would drop by with her boy friend and everyone else came over for a bowl of beef soup and salad. I think the older daughter's had a great time getting to know each other and had a lot in common and the boy friend was a delight with his stories and jokes.

I think we have put too much stock into doing the "Currier and Ives, or Rockwell's Christmas" scenes, where a large family is gathered around a table with a huge turkey and the table is laden with heaping bowls of food. There are many people who never have that "Christmas Dinner" as we might look down on them as lacking or not deserving or so many other wrong ideas of them. That's just wrong, too wrong. Because so many of our holiday experience is having to keep our tongues quiet, and to endure Uncle "Joe" bigoted mouth, or our drunken relative who put everyone down, or those who scorn the 'black sheep' who might be gay or trans and are shunned for so many concocted reasons.

And so I will say out loud that I love the family that has chosen us, that family who gathered around our table of love yesterday knows and loves us for the people we are. The Two Aunties who are now Grandmothers for so many wonderful and loving children, because they have parents who make sure their children will accept people for who they are.