MY CHRISTMAS STORY..

The decorating is done.

 The Cottage is quiet and

 the light of the candles

 casts a warm glow, 

along with a delightful essence, 

throughout.

 There is a feeling of contentment

 that always settles in

 at this time of year.

 I think it may have started

 many years ago 

when, as a young child,

 I saw how my mother was affected 

by this time of year and

by Christmas

in particular.

I kind of skipped over

 our decorations these last few posts,

 so as I continue my Christmas Story, 

I will give the Cottage her due

 and share them with you

in between.

My mom was a twin. 

 She suffered from ill-health 

most of her life

 along with low self esteem.

  She always felt she was inferior

 and not as pretty as

 her twin sister 

and, as you can see, 

they looked just alike. 

 For whatever the reasons were,

 I think she may have compensated

 by giving herself to 

being a wife, mother and home keeper. 

 These things she excelled at.

I know I have mentioned before

 how we never knew 

where the furniture would be 

when we came home from school.

 Our home was always 

pretty, immaculate, and 

we all sat down to dinner each night

 with a hot, full course meal.

  We didn't have a lot of money

 but, to my eyes,

 Mom made our home look like we did,

 by sewing pretty tablecloths and curtains,

 and by arranging fresh flowers 

throughout the house that 

she grew and tended herself 

in the garden.

 She also had a 

wonderful eye for color and style.

In later years, I found out 

that she went to bed many nights 

with chest pains 

because she had overdone during the day.

  But, to all of us, 

this was just who she was.

 My dad was a good provider and

 we loved him very much, 

but it was my mom who 

made our world go round.

This was never more apparent 

then at Christmas time.

 It wasn't just the gifts either, 

although the sight of packages 

under the tree 

was exciting.

 We usually got the "big" gift from Santa

 and the few, required, ones 

such as underwear or stockings, 

and the occasional doll or toy truck,

were wrapped in pretty papers, 

leaving us to wonder for days 

as to what was inside.

 I never shook,

 or even picked up,

 a present 

for fear that I might guess 

what it was.

 The surprise was, 

and still, remains

 everything to me.

As I mentioned,

 it was never about the gifts for me,

 there must have been something 

in my mother's attitude 

that set me on the path 

to my love of Christmas.

  

The special ways she would

 decorate the tree,

 or the baking and the home made candy or just the fact, that I could feel her happiness.

  Any one, 

or all,

 of these things 

could have made a

 lasting impression on me.

The pride she took

in what she did 

for her family and her home

 was very apparent.

 Although,

 how she felt was never talked about, 

I can imagine,

 because all of these ideals 

were passed on 

to me.

It is not just at this time of year

 that I see the results 

that my parents passed on.

 I see it, every day ,

in my daughter's family as well.

 It is like a line of dominoes,

 falling one by one,

 each taking their part 

from the ones before,

 and, I see,

 how lucky we all are 

to have this legacy...

...it is especially apparent to me

 at Christmas time...

 when the Cottage is quiet, 

the candles are lit and 

I sit by the tree. 

 I can feel the smile 

on my mother's face and

 know that she would be happy and proud 

about her job 

well done.

...Judy...

Thank you each, and everyone, 

for taking the time to visit with me throughout this year.

 I appreciate all of your kind words and

 the fact that you let me return the favor.

  I hope you all have 

a wonderful holiday and 

take a good rest 

after the celebrating is done.

  I will be doing just that 

and will return next year. 

 Talk to you then...but 

(as if this post wasn't long enough already)

 I want to share with you 

a beautiful Christmas present 

that our whole family received...

Meet Bo 

(pronounced as in Mr. Bo Jangles)

He is a golden retriever that 

Tami and Tim adopted.

 He has the most gentle soul. 

 He is loving, kind to all humans 

and other animals.

 He loves nothing better than

 climbing onto the sofa and, 

literally, climbing into your lap,

 where he will make himself comfortable

 for days, 

if he is allowed.

  Bo has epilepsy.

 His former owners were told this 

and were give prescriptions 

for medications that would help him,

 but they chose to use

 marijuana for his treatment instead

 and when he continued to have seizures, 

they abandoned him at the shelter.

 Luckily, Tami works at that shelter,

 and saw him immediately 

when he was dropped off.

 She said it was love at first sight 

for them both. 

 He has had one bad seizure 

since they brought him home and

 he is now on the meds 

that the doctors prescribed.

 There is no guarantee 

that they will stop the seizures completely

 but we are all hopeful 

and it is not a factor at all 

in the amount of love 

that he will receive 

or that he will give

 to all of us.