This is our second Christmas in our house. Last year we were alone and went to the local Chinese restaurant next to our Publix. This year we have good friends Evey and Dave Herschler coming to visit for the next four days! They will arrive around 12:30 this afternoon. I bought tickets in advance for Les Miserables at the Downtown Disney theater and made a 7:30 reservation at Ming Court in Orlando, a very elegant upscale Chinese restaurant. This will be a lovely day, and the bonus is that the temperatures are going to the upper 70s again. Nice.
I do have very fond memories of Christmases past. As most of you know, I was not raised Jewish. There was a tree and presents in my house when I grew up. I have a lot of great memories of coming down the stairs to see the tree and rip into the presents. My father used to like to make oyster stew! he never cooked all year, but on Christmas morning he would make this hideous concoction on the stove and slurp it up with gusto. My mother used to like to have Sara Lee Pecan Coffee Cake for breakfast, a tradition I tried to continue for awhile but now it's impossible to find that cake. Well, I don't need it to eat it anyway!
After I converted to Judaism in 1975, I no longer had a tree in my house, but I continued to help my immediate family celebrate their holiday. We went to my parents' houses until they passed away, then we went to a sibling's home. There was always a day with lots of family, what we called a Present GLUT, and good food. I also remember that it could take all day to unwrap everything, and then after dinner we would go back and do the stockings. My dad loved to wrap everything in the stockings in tin foil. I have shiny memories of Christmas in his farm house.
This continued uninterrupted for my whole life until last year when we were in Florida. It's just too hard to go up north for their holiday now. Of course, Evey celebrates with her husband's family in NJ, and Lowell is enjoying the day with his girlfriend's family in MD. My siblings are all doing their own things, too, I think. I know that Flyn's family is staying at home in VA because her husband Jim is recovering from recent surgery. Mark and Carol are always in SC. Cindy picked up her mom Jackie, so I know they are together. Kip and Denise are at her parents' house in DE. We are scattered, just like at Thanksgiving. I guess it's the end of the era of everyone being together for the gigantic present GLUT, but I hope they are all having a fabulous day no matter where they are or who they are with. I also hope they have fond memories of those many, many years when we all got together no matter what the weather or how far we had to drive. Those were good years.
No matter where you are today or who you are with, I hope it is a wonderful day. If you are celebrating Christmas, then I hope you have all the warmth, love, and special feelings associated with the day. If you are not a Christmas person, then I hope this day is a great one for you no matter what you might be doing. Peace and love to all and a Happy New Year!
No comments:
Post a Comment