I have read so many blog entries lately which have brought back many warm and wonderful childhood memories of Christmas for me. I’d like to thank you all for that. We may not have had much, but we were very rich in love, and Christmas was always a wondrous time. I love looking back and remembering. It’s kind of bittersweet now that my own children are too old to believe in Santa anymore, what with 2 of them grown, and my daughter being 11. We can’t do all those fun Santa things anymore, but I have grandchildren to look forward to, eh? I don’t feel old enough to be a grandma, but I think it would be great fun to have a grandchild! I’ve already told my kids that when they give us grandchildren, we are going to spoil them rotten then send them home. LOL What fun!! *evil grin*

Do you believe in being in the right place at the right time? I definitely do. One of those times for me was just after Christmas two years ago. I was at work, and an older gentleman came into the store looking more than a little bewildered. He came up to where I was and asked if I could help him. I looked up into his face, and into eyes reddened and rimmed with tears. His bottom lip quivered as he spoke. He said he was looking for a special kind of face cream for his wife who was in the hospital. He then began telling me the sad story of how she had fallen just before Christmas and broken her hip, and how much she hated being in the hospital. She was going to be moved to the nursing home soon until she was fully recovered; that’s when the tears welled even more. My heart was breaking. I told him that of course I could help him find the face cream, and we proceeded to the correct aisle and hunted down the brand he was seeking. I knew all he really needed was someone to listen …. and care. It was so strange, though, because during Christmastime and New Years the store was always so very busy, but from the moment he entered to the time he left, there was hardly a soul there, and I was able to spend a good bit of time with him. I was so grateful.

He came in again a couple of weeks later, and was happy to report that his wife was doing well and would be out of the nursing home soon. This time when his eyes welled with tears, I felt them to be more happy than sad. It was several months later before I saw him again, and this time he was with his wife. I recognized her immediately, as she had been in the store many times before, but never with her husband. She had always been with a younger woman. I knew her as the sweet older woman who had Alzheimer’s. I felt so bad. But at the same time, I felt so happy that there they were, together. They looked happy and content. And that’s all that really matters, isn’t it.

(((hugs)))