More Christmas musings.....

As I got ready for work this morning [yes, I am one of 'those' people at my desk this morning] I was thinking about Christmas 2004. What a truly magical Christmas!!! The memories are bittersweet too.

My sister still had her house in Southwest Houston; I was sharing space with her. Her job, at that time, took her away on trips for a week or more at a time to the Northeast to meet with clients and I was the house-sitter - nephew-sitter while she was gone. I truly enjoyed those times, even when they were not so pleasant, but cherish the time to get close to my nephew and closer to my sister.

But that year, we had all the parental units still with us, all the grandkids and kids were in town and Mom and Dad were delighted to have the Christmas Eve family celebration at my sisters house! We had some of the proverbial 'strays' too. One family in particular was and is still very special to us; he was my girls' computer teacher in high school and we were fortunate to become friends with his precious wife and beautiful children. Both of my kids babysat both of their kids through the years and we got to watch them grow up into beautiful young people. But I digress. There were events that made This Christmas especially memorable.


2004 was the year of the "2004 Christmas Eve Snowstorm"

As we made our preparations for all of the friends and family that would show up that evening there was a special 'tingle' in the air - it was cold and cloudy and the local weather forecasters were actually saying the "S" word out loud and in public! We all hoped it would snow but as the day wore on into evening, no sign of flurries.

Then around 5:30-6:00 Mom and Dad drove into the driveway and said, "We saw some flakes on the way over!" Talk about excited!!! Then when the Newlands arrived awhile later, we had a full blown dusting of snow EVERYWHERE in the yard and on the street! By Rocky Mountain or Northeast U.S. standards, this was nothing but in Houston, Texas on Christmas Eve, this was the event of the year if not the decade! S N O W on the ground and sticking for awhile at CHRISTMAS!!!!

As we visited and snacked and opened presents that Christmas Eve, everyone talked about how special THIS Christmas Eve was - we had loved ones around us and enjoyed the moment - I couldn't even tell you what anyone got as presents but we ALL got the present of a White Christmas Eve in Houston, Texas that year. In my book, that's a bucket list item checked off.

The bittersweet part of this story is, that was the last Christmas we had with my Dad. He was gone before the next Christmas but, I will always cherish that Christmas as a Very Special one with all of the family together and the white stuff on the ground. How wonderful that Dad's last Christmas was a white one and at home :-)

My Wish for all of my Family and Friends:
As you go about your preparations for this Christmas, think about the special moments - the laughter of your children - the warm feelings of being with family and friends, all together for another Christmas - the joy and delight in seeing the decorations on the houses you pass as you drive around town. Enjoy these moments, you will never ever get them back and make them into special memories to take out later and hold dear. And in the days, weeks, months and years to come, when you feel a little down and out of sorts, pull out those warm memories and let those memories warm your heart.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! From me and my family to You and Yours!!

Check out this wiki on the 2004 snowfall - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Christmas_Eve_Snowstorm

TerryT in Galveston: Christmas Memories

TerryT in Galveston: Christmas Memories: Christmas Memories What are your Christmas memories? Are they warm memories of family and friends? Do you have memories of going to ...

Christmas Memories

Christmas Memories

What are your Christmas memories? Are they warm memories of family and friends? Do you have memories of going to church or singing in a choir? Did you ever have to work at Christmas time?

I am feeling especially nostalgic this year and I’m not quite sure why. Daddy has been gone for 6 years this past October and Mom left us August 2010. I’m blaming this nostalgic sort of melancholy frame of mind on all of the recent past and the upcoming changes in my environment. And while I’ve been somewhat weepy I am enjoying the good, warm feeling I get when I give to family, friends and even strangers. So, if you’ve read this far and you are curious, I’m going to share my Christmas’ past, present and what I hope will be in my Christmas' to come!

Christmas’ in the past, as a small child, were magical! The season always stared with Aunt Lynne’s Christmas luncheon at the Houston Club downtown. She would book the luncheon to coincide with the large 2 story Christmas tree in the lobby and the TSU Carolers to be in attendance. There were aunts, uncles, cousins, great aunts, great uncles, and cousins many times removed. Various long time family friends would come and celebrate with us but the best memory of all was after lunch. Mom would take me to see the Christmas scenes, usually animated, in the windows of the downtown Foley’s department store. Talk about magical! And then we would do some shopping before heading home.

Trimming the tree at our house, when I was younger, was always interesting. The annual tug-of-war over fresh cut versus ‘it’s time for an artificial tree’ was always a lively discussion. Mom won out until after we had all mostly moved out on our own. Dad would hang the lights and then watch and direct traffic as we hung the ornaments. Then came the icicles…..a bit of background here – Dad was an engineer so, hanging icicles was not just more decoration, it was a precise balance of where and how many to hang. And woe be unto you if you pulled more than one strand at a time! Pulling out the stockings was always a treat. A friend of the family from when I was an infant, hand made and decorated a felt stocking for me with my name embroidered on the top of it. I still have it and as fragile as it is, it has been hung most every year since I received it!

Christmas Eve in the early years, were spent at my Dad’s mom’s house. I remember food and fun playing with all my cousins and visiting with all the family. And then the gift exchange! Then home with Mom and Dad and off to bed to wait for Santa to come. Some years, Santa would leave me a note after he ate his cookies and drank his milk; I think I still have one of the notes. Amazing how similar to my Dad’s handwriting it is.

Christmas morning was even more magical! The stockings were now filled and usually on the couch or a chair with all of the toys and presents Santa brought while we were sleeping. The living room would be filled with wrapping paper and squeals of delight over all the toys and presents Santa and my parents gave to us.

About the time I was in my early college years, after my Nana had passed away, we had Christmas Eve at my Mom and Dad’s house and now we had my children and then my niece and nephew along with assorted in-laws. We also had what I called the ‘strays’. These were the friends and sometimes friends of friends that had no place to go or no family close by. A lot of this group consisted of doctors and nurses, with no children, spouses or significant others, who would work a shift at the hospital and stop by on the way to work or the way home for refreshments and usually something to unwrap from Santa. Those times as a young adult and later as a mother myself, were just as magical as the Christmas’ from my childhood because I was fortunate enough to see the season through the eyes of my own beautiful daughters.

Some years have been tougher than others. Those Christmas’ that were the first holidays after losing both grandmothers, Aunt Lynne and then Dad and finally Mom were very hard. Somehow knowing how much they all loved this time of year made it easier to celebrate and remember their joy in the season.

The past couple of years my daughters and I and their spouse / significant other have celebrated along with my siblings. It’s a lot more “low key” than years past; a smaller group but still warms my heart that we all still gather together. This year, my brother is living with me. He was just recently diagnosed with MS and is unable to drive so, he is at my mercy. Not that this is a bad thing but he will be with me Christmas Eve and Christmas morning as we celebrate with my kids at my youngest daughter’s house in Houston. A different celebration in a different location from years past but the sentiment and the joyous celebration with family remains the same. We will spend a quiet Christmas Eve finishing up the wrapping and prepping for Christmas morning brunch. The oldest and my son in law are both on call Christmas Eve so they have to stay close to where they might be called in to see patients. There are no young children, this year, to share the wonders of waking up on Christmas morning and running into where the stockings are filled; signs that Santa came during the night; but my hope is that this will be my future Christmas’.

In recent years, I have come to look forward to the company's participation in the Salvation Army Christmas Angel tree. I’ve been doing this for 12 years; when the girls were younger I chose kids close to their ages and we shopped for kids that had less than us. The past 4 or 5 years I’ve picked the ‘Forgotten Seniors’ from the list, one each, male and female. I remember my mom and dad when I shop for these precious angels. After this year, I’ll have to find an Angel Tree on my own. Our contract ends February 29, 2012 and at this point I will be unemployed at close of business on that day. While I am apprehensive, I am not dwelling on my job prospects; that little issue can wait until AFTER I have celebrated this glorious time of the year with my family.

So these are my memories and my hopes for the future. My wish is that all of my precious family and friends will have a joyous and loving time with their own family and friends. Remember those who are not here to celebrate with us any longer and know they are looking down and smiling as we toast each other this Christmas Season.

Have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year!!!!

TerryT in Galveston: Been Awhile!

TerryT in Galveston: Been Awhile!: I had no idea it had been so long since I put anything on here. I've composed some things but deleted them as inappropriate and trust me th...

Been Awhile!

I had no idea it had been so long since I put anything on here. I've composed some things but deleted them as inappropriate and trust me they were the inappropriate ravings of a middle aged lunatic!!


I need to drop in and just express some random thoughts today; it's kind of bubbling up inside and needs an outlet so here goes!


FAMILY
I am so grateful for the chosen and biological family that I call mine own. They prop me up [sometimes they don't even know they did it!] and drag me up short as needed.

MY DAUGHTERS
I have the best 2 daughters ANYONE could ask for ever in a million years! As those of you who know me well, I am so exceedingly proud of my kids I could just bust wide open! They are both smart, gracious and loving young women who are both successful in their chosen professions. Yes, you could say this is one proud mom!

ODE TO LONG TIME FAMILY FRIENDS
Extended / chosen family can be just as close as blood relatives. Case in point: My dad's mom lived in West U on Ruskin street during my childhood and across and down the street was a woman who's family owned a downtown photography studio. Aunt Tere and in later years her son, Manual, took pictures of most all of the family at one time or another. There is a picture of me, my first Christmas and I am about 5 weeks old, at my grandmother's house with my Mom and Dad. That was the first of many pictures she and her son took of me in my lifetime all the way up to my wedding pictures.

This lady was like another aunt/grandmother/mentor to me as a child, teen and young adult. The funny thing is, my most poignant memory is one that occurred when I was about 4 or 5 years old. Every Sunday my dad would pick up Nana and Aunt Tere and we would all go to Mass together. Being the 'chatterbox' that I was, I would talk incessantly [well, that's what the adults said anyway!] and I had a particularly bad habit of starting each sentence with......Nana, You know what? or Aunt Tere, You know what? So, one Sunday, they had enough and told me I would get a nickle to spend at the drugstore soda fountain on the way home, which by the way was just enough to buy a single dip chocolate ice cream cone. I sat there in the back seat and bit my lip.......and fidgeted......and started to say something....stopped.....and I did this all the way to the Church. After Mass, I got my reward and promptly got into the car, after claiming my ice cream reward and started the conversation with......Nana, You know what? Funny that I can still remember them laughing until they cried to this day.

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY TRADITIONS - OLD AND NEW
As the Christmas holiday approaches and we embark a new memories and new or different traditions, I am reminded of all those long past times when we would gather at my grandmother's house on Christmas Eve. I hope this year will be the beginning of some new traditions that will incorporate some of the old ideas with my own kids. With mom and dad both gone and the 4 of us going in different directions, it's hard to let go of the old traditions. I keep thinking that change can be a good thing sometimes and this will be the start of different memories and different traditions, not bad, just different.

I won't be putting up a full size tree this year; it's just me, Bubba and my little dog so the small tree with the mini-ornaments will be fine. I don't miss having a full size tree; I always hated putting it up and decorating it alone the years I've done that so I won't miss it at all. What I will miss is having everyone wake up under the same roof Christmas morning. We will all get together at one place mid morning but it's just not the same. New memories, new traditions to look back on in the future.

PROMISE TO MYSELF
I will try to get here more often. I feel centered and calm when I can put my random thoughts on 'paper'. I just wish I was a better writer! With the ending of my contract at NASA, I will need this blog to keep calm and centered. So far I'm there but I have a feeling I won't always be this serene about losing my job for the last 12+ years. So, my promise is to stop by more than every 5 months :-) and to keep breathing deeply and letting it out slowly!!