Before Jason and I were married we both had our own ideas of what Christmas means. Of course, we shared the belief that the number one reason to celebrate was the birth of Jesus Christ, for without Him being a 'coming down God', we would have nothing to celebrate at all. Our first Christmas was 2011, and although we were not married, we quickly learned that the month of December would be jam packed putting many miles on the road and lots of very scheduled time with friends and family.
I won't bother you with each detail of our Christmas...But with this being my first blog since June - I wanted to share one of my most treasured memories from Christmas 2013. One family tradition that has changed greatly over the past few years of my life is eating Christmas breakfast at Grandma Rose's with all of my aunts, uncles, cousins, and so on. As many of you know, my grandmother has suffered with dementia for over five years. Before her mental health started declining, she loved spending time with her family. She also loved her hobbies. She was a wonderful writer. She loved spending time in God's word. And many of her nights were spent working on a needle point project. Perhaps a pillow or bell pull, but mostly lots of Christmas stockings. Each of her nine grandchildren have one of these stockings and most of her 19 grandchildren have one. A few years ago my aunt found two of these stockings and knew that my brother and I were the only of the 9 grandkids that did not have kids yet. She decided these were to be held for each of our first children. My brother was given one two Christmases ago before his daughter was born. Yesterday, to 'wrap up' the Christmas morning at my parents, my dad pulled the second one out of the closet and gave it to Jason and I for Baby Currie. I can't explain the emotion that swept over me in this moment, even though I knew this moment was coming at some point. It's one of those gifts that can't be bought in a store. It's one of those gifts that can never be replaced. It's a memory that can never be replaced.
We were able to spend some time with Grandma yesterday afternoon. Although I don't get to visit her often, it was one of the best visits we have had in a while. She talked a lot, and although she did not know a lot about what she, or we, were saying, she knew in that moment we were there for her and that we loved her. Best of all, I know I will treasure that visit with her for years to come.
