It’s an odd Christmas Eve this year: the weather outside, far from frightful, is quite delightful: a balmy shorts and flip-flop day. The family is scattered here and there: my son Richard is off to his friend Lauren’s in Navasota; my brother David and family are at the old family farm in Western Kentucky, driving old pickups around the back forty and shooting off their growing arsenal of advanced fire-arms. Nancy’s brothers and sisters are all in town; we hung out out with them and with her mom in the afternoon and ate beef and pork until we were sated. My mom went to the afternoon family Christmas Eve service, and I’ll go join the choir for the late service (even though they’d sound better without me) and sing the old songs and listen to the old words. And Lillian and Josh are up in East Texas with the Denbys and Lillian’s cousin Katelyn, so it’s pretty quiet around here.
Nancy and my mom and I went to dinner with the Robertsons and Walters, old friends and neighbors, who were gathered from every corner of the globe, last night, and spent a pleasant evening reminiscing about the old days, and hearing about the exploits and enthusiasms of children and grandchildren.
We view Christmas now through the lens of loss, thinking often of my daughter Ashley and my dad Richard, both of whom left us this year. Grief is a strange thing, walking beside you all the time, then grabbing you and overwhelming you when you least expect it. And yet, even when you are weeping, you find yourself laughing at a memory, or at a friend’s ill-timed but welcome joke, or at the surprise of a perfect stranger’s comforting hand on your shoulder.
We have been sustained by the prayers and love of so many people: it’s something of a marvel. And, to each of you and to those you love, and especially to those of you who bear your own sorrows and griefs, we wish a joyous Christmas.
The pictures show how easy she is to entertain! She loves singing BINGO. She gets excited and gets a couple of the letters — but always ends loudly with a grin on her face! She made two of her baby dolls dance while we sang the song (of course, I was provided with a baby doll to make it a real dance party).
Also, please note the “dinosaur” she drew on her magic drawing board! Well, NaNa thinks it looks like a dinosaur!
For quiet time after lunch, we watched the OLD Winnie the Pooh; I really didn’t think she would watch it, but she sat on my lap and quietly watched the entire story of Pooh and the Honey Tree! At the end, she jumped down and got close to the tv and stared at piglet and pooh — I wondered what she was thinking! Anyway, Dora and Bubble Guppies were forgotten for a while.
The Denby Clan 