luckyone
12-04-2002, 02:17 PM
The period of my life between ages 16 and 26 could easily be called the "lost decade". Caught up in a tumultuous love affair with a soft-spoken dreamer, Corey captured my heart and could have easily become my husband had he not been committed to another passion - drinking. Yet it was through him that I truly learned unselfish love as I freely gave of my time and resources and oftentimes found myself in the most unlikely scenarios for the sake of love. The saddest thing about alcoholism is that you can see beyond the drinking and underneath, you can often catch glimpses of the most wonderful, compassionate soul who seems longing to get out but can't. After ten years of trying, our relationship had relatively come to an end. The contact didn't cease until a few years afterwards, as it was the most difficult experience in the world to leave the one I loved so much and whom still desperately wanted me in their life.
We had always shared a love of nature and particularly a love of Pine trees. Christmas was a special time for us, being that somehow the peacefulness of Christ would over shine the trials and we'd attend Christmas mass and light the way of Christ in the luminaries along the pathway to his family's home. We'd always search for the perfect, live Christmas tree and it was the first opportunity that I had to display my collection of ornaments that I had been saving and accumulating since age 15, in hopes of a brighter future with Corey.
On the first Christmas after our inevitable break up, I returned to my family's home after attending Christmas Eve service. There, in a swirl of snow on the front porch next to the door, was a small box with a card. Standing there in the cold darkness, the only light from the nearby street light, my eyes welled up with tears. The box was a small, (approximately 8x6-inch) gift box with a removable cover and it had been painstakingly covered with hundreds of pinecone tips, each glued on individually and perfectly overlapping one another. The splendid display was topped with a single red, silk poinsettia flower. Inside the box was an adorable plush bear and on the accompanying card was simply written, "I'll always be glad that I was loved by you".
Years later, I learned that this boyfriend did well for himself, although I'm not sure if he ever gave up his habit. Life is bittersweet sometimes. Yet now, many years later, looking back at that Christmas, I can smile at the thought of the pinecone box and know that God gives us a purpose in all experiences and that love is never a wasted gift.
Linda
We had always shared a love of nature and particularly a love of Pine trees. Christmas was a special time for us, being that somehow the peacefulness of Christ would over shine the trials and we'd attend Christmas mass and light the way of Christ in the luminaries along the pathway to his family's home. We'd always search for the perfect, live Christmas tree and it was the first opportunity that I had to display my collection of ornaments that I had been saving and accumulating since age 15, in hopes of a brighter future with Corey.
On the first Christmas after our inevitable break up, I returned to my family's home after attending Christmas Eve service. There, in a swirl of snow on the front porch next to the door, was a small box with a card. Standing there in the cold darkness, the only light from the nearby street light, my eyes welled up with tears. The box was a small, (approximately 8x6-inch) gift box with a removable cover and it had been painstakingly covered with hundreds of pinecone tips, each glued on individually and perfectly overlapping one another. The splendid display was topped with a single red, silk poinsettia flower. Inside the box was an adorable plush bear and on the accompanying card was simply written, "I'll always be glad that I was loved by you".
Years later, I learned that this boyfriend did well for himself, although I'm not sure if he ever gave up his habit. Life is bittersweet sometimes. Yet now, many years later, looking back at that Christmas, I can smile at the thought of the pinecone box and know that God gives us a purpose in all experiences and that love is never a wasted gift.
Linda