Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I love everything about it; the shopping, the giving, the music, the cheezy tv shows that are older than me, getting together with family and friends….everything.
When I was a kid growing up in Gadsden, I lived with my Mom, Sister, and Grandmother. Since it was my Grandmother’s house, all of my relatives came over on Christmas day. Our house was filled to the max. You see, my Grandmother had five children, my Uncle Ed, my Aunt Margret, my Aunt Jane, Aunt Frankie, and my Mom. Uncle Ed was married to Aunt Tavie (her real name was Octavia) and they had no children. Aunt Frankie was married to Uncle James, and together they had four children (Judy, Janice, Joan, and JR). Aunt Margret was married to Uncle Oris, and they had three children (Ronnie, Royce and Carol). Aunt Jane was married to Uncle Claude and they had four children in their house (James, David, Mike, and Willie. And finally my Mom, who had Tammy and me.
Add to that a mirid of spouses of my cousins, as well as children, and you get the picture of how crowded it was in our five room house.
Know what? I wouldn’t change a thing. Everyone was always so happy back then, at least that I could see. It was like a Norman Rockwell painting to me. Tammy and I would wake up early on Christmas morning and see what toys we had received. My cousin James would arrive soon after to help us play (although he was in his twenties at the time) followed by his brother Mike (also in his twenties).
People would arrive all through the day and come and go, but the house was always full. It was this way until I was almost ten years old, which was the time that my Aunt Frankie and her family had grown to the point that they wanted to have their own Christmas, separate from the rest of the family. It was never quite the same again.
But overall, it was the best time of the year in the best time of my life. It was a much simpler time then. Family and friends were more important than they are now. People got together to celebrate the holiday and each other. It was not a burden.
Oh, how I miss those days.
Many of the people I mentioned have passed on. Only my Aunt Frankie and my Mom remain from the original five families.
I miss you all and toast you for the holiday.
Even though so many things have changed, some things remain the same for me. It is still my favorite time of the year and I love to give (I wish I had more to give with) and I still have family.
I also have so many things to be thankful for. My Mom, Tammy, Luke, Amanda, Emily, Susan, Uncle James and Aunt Frankie, My cousins, Uncle Donny, Uncle Charles, Uncle Tom, their spouses, Grandma Bonnie, the entire Mote Family, my friends Marlon Lancaster, Chris Westcott, David Moon, Neal Brasher, Joel and Amy, Danny Moon, Tim Temple, Tim Hunter, Ross Miller, Jason Letanosky, David Owens, John McCollum, Jerry Payne, Kimberly Sue, Becky Armstrong, Niki Chesser, the other Nicki, all of my comrades at Momentum, and those I should remember but can’t at the moment.
To all of you, I want you to know that I truly love each and every one of you more than you can ever know. You enrich my life in ways that I can’t express. If I had to put it into words, the best way I could say it is that you have helped to make the second half of my life as rich and full as the first half.
So my biggest wish this year is that I return the favor to you and be the best Son, Brother, Father, and friend I can be.
Merry Christmas and the Happiest of New Years !!!