Time to think about the upcoming Holidays!

I love Thanksgiving the most. We usually spend the day with two of our daughters and their families and it feels like "home" again. We do a little shopping the day after and it just feels good to be together making memories and sharing traditions we've had from the past. Christmas has special memories. As a child, it was all about Christ's birth. We had a gift or two but the focus was always on church services and programs and the true meaning of Christmas.

As a young woman, I fell in love at Christmas time. Every year when I begin to hear the carols play I feel that warmth and happiness that began when I fell in love with my husband 53 years ago. Our first dates were spent at family gatherings and other celebrations and those memories are as fresh as today. Our children are grown and have their own family traditions now. Sometimes we feel like an extra spoke in their wheel of activities. In the next few days Wally and I will spend some time planning what we'll do and where we'll be throughout the holidays. We will enjoy friends who come to our porch and sing carols every year. I love to bake and share with our neighbors and family. These are all fun things that don't take away the real meaning of the season. We decorate as we've always done but it does get harder each year to lug the boxes down from the attic and it takes longer to get things set up and then taken down. Well worth it though.

I'll miss the snow and cold weather that meant Christmas was on the way in my younger days but the spirit will still be with us - as we plan for cantatas, special community events and the reading of God's Word that makes this season precious.
__________________Ruth