marcialee
09-03-2003, 10:57 PM
The Christmas That Almost Was – 2000
By Marcia Lee
We almost had Christmas together this year.
The 1947 farmhouse was partly decorated and ready for the grandkids to finish it. The Christmas tree waited in the living room with only multi-colored lights and a very few presents underneath. The spruce filled the air with its beautiful bouquet. A tabletop tree was in the picture window, specially made by Poppa. Garland graced the archway between the dining room and living room.
Lovely angels adorned the living room, and an old 1939 couch and chair rescued from a garage sale was in all its Christmas splendor. On it were red and green patchwork pillows edged in eyelet, a candy cane pillow, and a musical Santa Bear decked out in his red scarf and hat. The snow village proudly displayed on the fireplace mantle had tiny lights shining from the windows.
In the bedroom, the red and green plaid flannel comforter just spelled Christmas with color, comfort and warmth. It was piled with stuffed bears – some brown, some white, and then Paddington Bear, dressed in a blue jacket.
The apple motif kitchen was ready for Christmas any time of the year. For a special touch, a macramé Santa on the wall held Christmas Cards – sweet remembrances from friends and family.
The outside of our little white cottage was decorated very little because of the extreme cold all month long. However, the white picket fence was array with white lights, and our Teddy Bear Santa warmly welcomed visitors from the front yard. Just a touch or two of green garland around the glider and swing on the front porch completed the outside décor.
But then, Mother Nature contributed to the décor with ICE. Not soft, white fluffy snow, but ICE. It glistened and sparkled as if everything was covered with white sequins - the trees, the barn, and the house. Our yard was magically transformed into a winter wonderland.
By now, you can guess why our Christmas got postponed. Postponed but never cancelled. Christmas can never be cancelled because it is all about love. Love sent to us in the form of Baby Jesus, love of family, love of fellow man.
When the weather is agreeable, and the grandkids aren’t sick, we WILL come together again.
We’ll sing Christmas Carols as we finish decorating the tree. We’ll sip hot chocolate, coffee or tea as we talk by the fire. Christmas stories, new and old, will be read to the grandkids. We’ll watch Christmas videos including classics such as Miracle on 34th Street, It’s a Wonderful Life and Holiday Inn. We’ll dream of “sugar plums” as we nap to the tunes of instrumental Christmas music. We’ll read the Christmas Story from Luke 2, remembering Jesus is the reason for the season. And THEN, we’ll open our presents. What a frenzy that will be!
Later, we’ll spend time in the kitchen making candy. We’ll melt white chocolate in the microwave and dip pretzels in it. We’ll also pour some into Christmas molds and pop them in the refrigerator. What fun we’ll have - the grandkids will love it!
At suppertime, we’ll feast on turkey and dressing, potatoes and gravy, vegetable casserole, sweet potatoes, creamed English peas, warm yeast rolls, and pie – lots of pie! Chess pie, pecan pie, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and maybe even a hot peach cobbler with ice cream! Soon we’ll all be stuffed like turkeys! Even though we can hardly move, we’ll manage to go back into the living room and sit by the fire.
After we’ve warmed ourselves by the fire a while, we’ll all pile into the van and cruise to see the Christmas lights. We’ll go to Joslins in Quitman, Parkers in Greers Ferry, and into Heber Springs to see the courthouse. And oh, we can’t forget the lights in Searcy. What an awesome site!
Thanks be to God who bestows such blessings on us! Although we didn’t have our Christmas on December 25th, we (as Christians) should have Christmas all the time in our hearts. Our family will come soon and all of us will rejoice just being together and have our own special day of Christmas whenever He allows.
By Marcia Lee
We almost had Christmas together this year.
The 1947 farmhouse was partly decorated and ready for the grandkids to finish it. The Christmas tree waited in the living room with only multi-colored lights and a very few presents underneath. The spruce filled the air with its beautiful bouquet. A tabletop tree was in the picture window, specially made by Poppa. Garland graced the archway between the dining room and living room.
Lovely angels adorned the living room, and an old 1939 couch and chair rescued from a garage sale was in all its Christmas splendor. On it were red and green patchwork pillows edged in eyelet, a candy cane pillow, and a musical Santa Bear decked out in his red scarf and hat. The snow village proudly displayed on the fireplace mantle had tiny lights shining from the windows.
In the bedroom, the red and green plaid flannel comforter just spelled Christmas with color, comfort and warmth. It was piled with stuffed bears – some brown, some white, and then Paddington Bear, dressed in a blue jacket.
The apple motif kitchen was ready for Christmas any time of the year. For a special touch, a macramé Santa on the wall held Christmas Cards – sweet remembrances from friends and family.
The outside of our little white cottage was decorated very little because of the extreme cold all month long. However, the white picket fence was array with white lights, and our Teddy Bear Santa warmly welcomed visitors from the front yard. Just a touch or two of green garland around the glider and swing on the front porch completed the outside décor.
But then, Mother Nature contributed to the décor with ICE. Not soft, white fluffy snow, but ICE. It glistened and sparkled as if everything was covered with white sequins - the trees, the barn, and the house. Our yard was magically transformed into a winter wonderland.
By now, you can guess why our Christmas got postponed. Postponed but never cancelled. Christmas can never be cancelled because it is all about love. Love sent to us in the form of Baby Jesus, love of family, love of fellow man.
When the weather is agreeable, and the grandkids aren’t sick, we WILL come together again.
We’ll sing Christmas Carols as we finish decorating the tree. We’ll sip hot chocolate, coffee or tea as we talk by the fire. Christmas stories, new and old, will be read to the grandkids. We’ll watch Christmas videos including classics such as Miracle on 34th Street, It’s a Wonderful Life and Holiday Inn. We’ll dream of “sugar plums” as we nap to the tunes of instrumental Christmas music. We’ll read the Christmas Story from Luke 2, remembering Jesus is the reason for the season. And THEN, we’ll open our presents. What a frenzy that will be!
Later, we’ll spend time in the kitchen making candy. We’ll melt white chocolate in the microwave and dip pretzels in it. We’ll also pour some into Christmas molds and pop them in the refrigerator. What fun we’ll have - the grandkids will love it!
At suppertime, we’ll feast on turkey and dressing, potatoes and gravy, vegetable casserole, sweet potatoes, creamed English peas, warm yeast rolls, and pie – lots of pie! Chess pie, pecan pie, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and maybe even a hot peach cobbler with ice cream! Soon we’ll all be stuffed like turkeys! Even though we can hardly move, we’ll manage to go back into the living room and sit by the fire.
After we’ve warmed ourselves by the fire a while, we’ll all pile into the van and cruise to see the Christmas lights. We’ll go to Joslins in Quitman, Parkers in Greers Ferry, and into Heber Springs to see the courthouse. And oh, we can’t forget the lights in Searcy. What an awesome site!
Thanks be to God who bestows such blessings on us! Although we didn’t have our Christmas on December 25th, we (as Christians) should have Christmas all the time in our hearts. Our family will come soon and all of us will rejoice just being together and have our own special day of Christmas whenever He allows.