Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays SG land! I hope that everyone is enjoying their time with family as best you can. I set up a video chat for my sisters and my Mom this morning. My stepdad popped in for a few minutes too. It was nice, but certainly isn't what I am used to. I know that we are all in the same situation and it sucks. I am not looking for pity. I'm going somewhere with this.
Now I'm sitting here listening to some music from the 70's and feeling nostalgic. I just want to share my Christmas from 2017 with you. It is one that I will definitely never forget. My Dad was 89 years old and had been diagnosed with leukemia in September. He was a warrior, visiting the cancer center a few days a week and undergoing chemo. He was very much looking forward to turning 90 because the local newspaper would publish his picture with congratulations. I came up with the idea of getting a calendar made for him to count down the days until his birthday, in May. It was so far away but I thought it would give him a little extra motivation. I got together with my 2 sisters and we went through so many photos from over the years and picked out some that we liked and felt were appropriate for each month of the year. I went to the print shop where I had already started the process and explained what I was looking for and gave them the photos and details for each month. Every month also had a motivational saying on it. It turned out great! I had 4 calendars made so that my sisters and I could each have one as well. It ended up taking a little longer than I had anticipated so we decided to sit on it for a couple of weeks and give it to him for Christmas. We all gathered at my sister's house, like usual. My Mom and Stepdad even came up from Florida to join us. They don't come up every year, but Mom knew how important this Christmas was.
After sitting around and visiting for a bit, we went to the living room to open presents. We would hand them all out and then take turns so that everyone could see what everyone else was getting. We left the calendar under the tree so we could give it to him once we were all done. My Dad was literally like a little kid. He would start opening a gift, all sneaky like, when it wasn't even his turn so we always had to keep an eye on him. He was always good for a laugh like that. Once we were done my sister gave him the last gift under the tree, like we had missed it. We all sat back with our phones ready for pictures and video. Dad looked at it and said, oh, it's from my 3 kids. After carefully opening it, he didn't want to rip the wrapping paper, he was absolutely overwhelmed and began to cry as he flipped through the pages. Actually I think we were all crying shortly after he started, especially since we were pretty sure that it would be his last Christmas with us. Unfortunately, Dad never did see his 90th birthday. He passed away about 4 weeks after Christmas.
Please don't be sad for me. My sisters and I were lucky. It's not like Christmas wasn't special, but we made sure that this one was extra special because we knew the end was near. Most people aren't that lucky. So make sure that you never pass up the opportunity to give your loved ones a hug and tell them that you love them. Cherish the time spent with them, even if it's just on the internet or the phone. I have friends that the only way we communicate is on the internet and I always cherish my time with them.
Be safe and stay healthy! Love, hugs and kisses
