Sunday 12 December 2010

Christmas is a time for celebration, family & remembering.


Now that the snow has cleared everyone is rushing about trying to get done all those things that should have been done before.

Christmas is creeping up on us rapidly – the amount of Christmas lunches goes to prove that!

Now in our family as we have so many children/grandchildren all trying to fit in everyone over the two days holiday that they get we have always had our get together the weekend before Christmas.  This year it falls on Sunday 19th December – next weekend!

So this weekend I’ve been gathering together lists of everything I need to get for the buffet that I put on.  It has to be a buffet nowadays as with 9 grandchildren and 10 adults I no longer have a table (or a room) big enough to sit us down to a meal!

With Mick off sick with the flu we haven’t even had the opportunity to go to Iceland and get a load of frozen goodies so it is all buy it online with my weekly shopping or make it myself.

Add to that the clear up of the house and getting the boiler fixed (why do they always break down when you don’t want them to!) and this weekend has been rather chaotic.

As I ploughed my way through my old box from years gone by which houses the remnants of Christmas paper, cards & lists left over, I decided to have a clear out of all the old lists. 

Then I changed my mind.

There were the lists from 2000 onwards which showed all the presents bought and cards sent, food prepared and rough menus.  In those days we still all sat round the table on Boxing Day :-)

Then we moved on and I saw when I started to move onto the buffets and weekends before.

Then I came across another one, and as I sat here listening to an old CD of ‘oldies’ from the 50’s, 60’s I wondered why on this list I suddenly had a menu for Christmas Day dinner as well as pre-Christmas buffet.  Looking at the date scribbled on the back I realised it was Christmas after Dora (my dad’s wife) had died.  That Christmas my dad came to stay with us for Christmas dinner.

I looked at the lists again and I noticed how as the years have gone by that names have been scratched out.  Whether by leaving us from the passing of this world to the next or by a removal from our lives when jobs and circumstances have changed.

Yes Christmas is a time for family and remembering.  Remembering all those that came and went from our lives.  That for a short while made a mark on our lives and for being grateful for all we have had, all we have and all we will have in the future – and that is not meant on a material level.


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