Home for the Holidays

Reflections on the Holiday Season

Decorating the Christmas tree brings back so many memories of years gone by.
My festive Spanish bell purchased in Mexico so many years ago triggers memories of times with dear people whom were so much a part of my life in the 80's.
Humming,

Feliz Navidad,
I remember Christmas season trips to New Mexico.
I think of all the wonderful Spanish speaking students whom I taught over the years.
I think of the rich cultural traditions that others have during this time of year.

Some years a few new decorations are added to tree.

This year, dried wheat bunches from the Thanksgiving flower arrangement were gathered together and tied with Christmas ribbon to create a new decoration.

It will be a reminder of the wonderful Thanksgiving we shared with my son and his wife and son

and with 

my daughter and her son and daughter earlier this year.

My tree always is dotted with bells, lots of bells.
Somehow, many years ago, I started collecting so many bells that I decided that my Christmas tree would have a bell theme.
And so, to this day, bells hang on my tree.
The bells of Christmas.

Each bell has a story behind it.  

Each bell carries a special memory.

I love the bells of Christmas.

The angels.

The lambs.

The red berries.

The pine cones.

The red and silver balls.

The lights.

I love the beauty of Christmas.

Christmas decorations remain on display at my house until New Year's Day.

It seems we are so busy before Christmas that I rarely have time to sit and reflect about the true meaning of Christmas until it is all over.

Julie's tree,
the tree that holds only her special ornaments,
gives me great comfort,
but it also sometimes sends fresh shock waves through my mind
when I see her things in my house as a reminder that she is not here to put them up in her own place.

I'm never quite prepared for
 the scent of Julie
 that overpowers my emotions when I open the hat box that contains her Christmas ornaments. 
Yes, the tissue paper that she placed around each ornament still smells like her. 
It got to me again this year. 
I miss you, Jules.
 I love you. 
XO

***********

The holidays really began for me when my high school girlfriends all gathered for our holiday party on the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

(That's me, surrounded by my girlfriends, 

smiling broadly,  dressed in orange, and sitting midway on the stairs.)

Oh how I love these girls!

As a group, and individually, my life is much richer 

because I met these awesome ladies over fifty years ago.

We giggle like school girls while we open our gag gift exchange.

You don't even want to know what we give each other!

We laugh so hard we can barely breathe throughout the day when we have our get togethers.

This year, Dove could not be with us, so she sent a bottle of real maple syrup from Vermont, where she lives, for each one of us.

We cry and give thanks as

we share our list of gratitudes for the year with each other.

Each of us feels loved and blessed because
we belong to something that is rare and precious:

a sisterhood of
of girlfriends
 with deep roots that began in the golden days of youth
 and has lasted until our hair has turned to silver.
We are there for each other no matter what.

As we get older, the "no matter whats" become harder to bear,
but we don't bear our trials alone.

Our friend with Alzheimer's called during our lunch.

Her husband placed the call so we could talk to her.

Three of the girls drove to Kansas this summer to bring her love and gifts from the group and to take her out for the day.

That's what I'm talking about.

These girls are true, forever friends.

**********

Soon, the next holiday was upon us.

Thanksgiving was so special this year.

Ryan and Sheridan brought oldest grandson with them as they flew in for a short visit for 

Thanksgiving.

We have plenty of chairs, but these kids like togetherness.

Firstborn grandson Parker is in his first year of college.

What a treat it was to have him with us during his short break!

Daughter Amy and her children were here with us too.

The siblings took over the kitchen for mom.

That is a good thing since I can't seem to put it all together like I used to do.

After a run through the neighborhood, they whipped up dinner.

(We also had a bit a lot of help from Whole Foods.)

I was one blessed and happy mom on Thanksgiving Day.
Nothing makes me happier than being surrounded by my children and grandchildren.
Nothing.

The trip to my house was a quick one for the newlyweds.

I'm grateful they were able to come at all.

The day after Thanksgiving was Black Friday.

The next day was Small Business Saturday.

Sheridan, as a small business owner, took time to be with us, her family,

 before she was off for the Christmas rush at Hip and Humble in Salt Lake City.

*************

The day after Thanksgiving, Jim was also off to work at the Apple Store.

With me also working, this was a crazy, busy Christmas season for us.

Somehow, we managed to decorate the house,
shop for presents,
write and mail a Christmas letter,
and attend other holiday get togethers with friends and family.

My new best friends became the folks that own the nearby
PostalAnnex in the University Center in Colorado Springs.
I literally dropped gifts on the counter and asked, "Can you wrap and mail these for me?"
They did just that!
I didn't have to go to the post office or FedEx or UPS one time during the Christmas season.
Check them out for all your mailing needs.

A special event each year is hosted by my cousin and her husband:  The Cousin Christmas Party.
Thanks, Diana and Steve for again being such gracious hosts.
We shared great food and deep belly laughs throughout the evening.

*********
On Christmas Eve, we celebrated with Jim's daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren at daughter Thia's new home.
What a fun time we all had.

Christmas Day was a very quiet day for the two of us.
Jim said, "Don't get me anything for Christmas.  I don't need a thing."
I thought of a few things he needed.
First,
he needed new gloves that would keep his hands warm while he walks the dog
and navigates around his iPhone.
He needed technology friendly gloves.
"You can text while wearing these gloves," I said.
"No kidding?" he replied.
Then he happily tried them out and was quite excited about the new gloves.

He also needed another winter hat, one that he could wear to work.
He loved his new brown wool cap.

I also surprised him with new "tennis shoes" that he likes to wear to work.

Jim finds great comfort in honoring and remembering his heritage when we light the menorah.
On Christmas morning, my dear, dear Jewish friend in California sent me greetings via a text.
She then sent me a photo of her daughter and her husband, home for the holidays, seated in front of a lighted menorah.
I sent her this photo of Jim.

Jim spoiled me to death with many wonderful gifts.
He didn't listen to me either when I told him that I needed nothing for Christmas.

Cooking a large Christmas dinner has never been high on my list of things to do on Christmas.
Instead, I've traditionally made Christmas brunch.
This year, just the two of us enjoyed a brunch of chili relleno casserole, hash browns, a spinach salad, a fruit salad, and stollen. (We forgot we had also planned to have bacon.)
As we leisurely enjoyed our morning and early afternoon, I realized that we had not spent an entire day together without any obligations or work since mid-September.

Christmas Day the air was cool and crisp, but the sky was a brilliant blue.
We decided to walk in the Garden of the Gods.
We'd not been there in months.
Boston could hardly contain himself with joyful anticipation as we approached one of his favorite walking places.
We thought it would be the perfect day to enjoy the great outdoors now that all the summer tourists have gone home.
We were wrong.
Throngs of people had the same idea we did.
I don't know when I've seen this beautiful place so crowded.

Despite the crowds,
and Boston's over-enthusiastic reaction of being in a favorite place filled with lots of great smells,
 and lots of other people,
we enjoyed a crisp Christmas afternoon walk.

**********
Home for the holidays is an ideal I have carried in my head for a long time.
I envisioned that this meant all of our offspring would gather around the table with us to eat a Christmas meal, or open presents around the tree.

Divorce,
death,
and
distance,
the three D's of Christmas,
 have robbed me of much happiness at Christmas over the years.

This year,
acceptance of those things over which I have no control
allowed me to
celebrate,
with peace and joy,
a quiet
Christmas at home.

Christmas Letter to Friends and Family - 2014

The Big News of the Year:

The Wedding of Ryan and Sheridan 

Our family was greatly blessed this year when Ryan and Sheridan were married in June.  It was the greatest, most fun family wedding ever.  Siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandmas and grandpas, and family friends spent a weekend hiking, fishing, making and eating smores, laughing and talking around the campfire in Boulder City, Utah when we gathered to watch two families become one during this very special occasion.  Welcome to the family Sheridan, Max, and Henry.  We love you!

Henry, Sheridan, & Max

Parker, Ryan, Bridger, Regan

Other Family Milestones:

This year was a momentous year that meant many trips to Utah for weddings and graduations.  Jim’s oldest grandson Caleb married Rachel in Logan, Utah, in May.  My oldest grandson Parker graduated from high school in Utah this year.  He is attending Utah State.  Jim’s oldest granddaughter Daphne graduated from high school in Colorado and is attending BYU.   We were back in Utah in June for Ryan & Sheridan’s big day.  

The Year in Review:  

I must begin by saying that I scarcely know where the year went.  We celebrated last Christmas in Utah with Ryan and family and with Keicha and Gillian.  Then, we were kept very busy with family events throughout the spring and summer.  

Sally’s year has been dotted with health issues.  She is doing much, much better after gall bladder surgery in April and a heart ablation in July.  In fact, she is doing so much better that she ended the year by teaching English to international student at UCCS.

Jim also has big news this year.  He began a new career selling apples.  More correctly, he is working for the Apple store.  He loves his job.  It has been the best adventure for him.  A great fan of all things Mac, on a whim, he applied for a job with Apple and was hired in June.  It has been a challenge for Sally to get used to a husband working retail.  He only works part-time, but hours during the Christmas season have been a bit more plentiful.  His patience and teaching skills are a bonus when it comes to helping others with questions about Apple products.

Retirement is not on hold for us.  I will re-retire when the semester is over in a few days.  Jim is still retired on his days off.  He also stays busy with his position on several boards.  He greatly enjoys his daily walks with his best buddy Boston.  Sally will be happy to return to having time to do more writing and blogging.  She also greatly enjoys her Bible study groups and other fellowship opportunities at her church.  We are planning a trip to Florida in February.  

Family Photos from 2014

Daughters
Keicha & Amy

Granddaughters
Hannah, Regan, Gillian

Daughter & Son
Amy & Jon

Grandson Atticus with Boston our dog

Grandsons with Grandpa Jim
Bridger, Parker, and Mason

Many no longer send out Christmas cards or Christmas letters, but it has become a tradition for me that I enjoy doing.  With a family the size of ours, it is difficult to distill the family happenings into a small newsletter.  Jim’s daughters all live close by, so it is nice to spend more time with them.  The highlight of the year for the Wessely family was the wedding of Caleb and Rachel in Logan, Utah.  We also had great fun when we all went to Moab for a marathon that Thia, Brad, and Trinette ran in April.  We will all celebrate Christmas Eve together soon.  It will be good to see the newlyweds and Daphne.  These three have been away at college.  

Grandson Caleb's Wedding
Sally, Jim, Caleb, Rachel, and Grandfather W

The year has certainly brought our family great trials, and challenges, but Sally has witnessed the continued faithfulness of God in her life and in lives of those she loves.  Along with the trials have come much to celebrate.  

It has been such a joy this year to witness a new family come together with the marriage of Sheridan and Ryan.  They live in Bountiful, Utah.  They are very busy keeping up with their children while they also manage Sheridan’s business Hip and Humble.  Visit any of her three locations when you are in the Salt Lake area. 

Keicha and daughter Gillian live in Ogden, Utah.  She just had back surgery and will end the year recuperating.  She has been employed by the credit union where she works for over 25 years.  She continues with all of her community work.

Amy is loving her new job in HR with a company located in downtown Denver.  She and her children, Mason and Hannah,  live in Erie, Colorado.  

Jon is in Scranton, PA with his family where he teaches at Marywood University.  Sally spent two weeks in Scranton with Jon this fall after Jon suffered a terrible accident that nearly took his life.  He continues to recover from his injury.

My mother is going strong at age 98.  She remains an amazing woman who lives in her own home.    

Jim and I end the year healthy and happy.  We rejoice over all of our rich blessings.  We look forward to the coming year.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Blogging friends, this post is a copy of the Christmas letter I sent out this year. I look forward to the coming year when I will be reading all your news, insights, thoughts, and reflections on your blogs.  

Merry Christmas!