Family & Christmas

As a priest I was taught and found to be true that the holidays were among the most stressful times in the lives of families. Usually the crisis doesn't happen during the holidays but rather in the weeks immediately following. In my life the holiday season has always been a great time, although I admit it took me a little while to get the hang of giving good presents to Marsha. As a kid I waited for Christmas. It always seemed to be the most wonderful experience anyone could have. My mother was obsessed with making sure we had a spectacular Christmas. After I grew up and married our Christmas holiday always involved family. It was typically Marsha's family because mine was spread all over the place. The food and festivities were always great from Christmas Eve through Christmas Day. I have so many great memories of Christmas during the 45 years of my marriage with Marsha but none greater than our last Christmas in Taunton with both my children and all our grandchildren and even our great-grandson present. Marsha and I had so much fun getting ready for that Christmas and it was so expressive of the love we have for those people that I still can fill up with emotion when I think of all of them reading their letters and opening their gifts from our history. I will be spending Christmas with family again this year but it will most certainly be different without Marsha. I know I will relive many memories and form some new ones, but it will be sad as well to not be able to share the them with Marsha.