I don't know about anyone else but I never looked ahead to the day I'd be celebrating Christmas at 75. In all honesty, I didn't think I'd still be around and having as much enjoyment in my life as I do. There's something to be said about taking each day at a time and enjoying it the best we can.
When my children were young we always had an open house for the whole family on Christmas Eve. It was a hectic but magically happy time when biggest joy was spending this time with our extended family.
One of our traditions was for the children to open one present each on Christmas Eve and it was always new pyjamas so they'd look decent in the next morning's photos.
Christmas morning was spent watching the happiness of my children as they opened their gifts. Some memories stand out a bit more, like when we put Dennis' name on one of Kim's gifts and she thought she'd been short changed for a moment.
Another tradition for us was the yearly jig saw puzzle that Dennis and whoever else would spend hours putting together. The only Christmas I remember the grandsons working along with him was when I bought a jig saw puzzle where the picture was all women's butts. Jim would always work along with Dennis no matter what the picture was.
Boxing day held more traditions for us. Dennis would make a huge pot of turkey soup and some of the relatives would stop by for a bowl of it. It was like the calm after the storm but still held all the joy of the Christmas season.
Christmas doesn't represent presents to me. It is a time of joyful spirit and being thankful for all the good in your life.
Today I'll have Christmas dinner at the clubhouse with maybe 150 people, many are good friends. Tomorrow I'll head over to Tampa to spend time with the Alvarez family and get to meet Lisette's boyfriend, Danny. In our family, Christmas is probably the most loved holiday of all and I've heard Shelley will carry on her father's tradition of making that spectacular turkey soup. I can't wait!
Merry Christmas!
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