It Just Dawned On Me!

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Years ago we started a family tradition of holding a family get together around Christmastime. This was done for the sake of our mother. She said that she wished she could see everyone at Christmas, but she couldn't be in so many places at once. The first year we gathered at her apartment. Thankfully it had a living room and dining area that were combined and could hold 3 lengths of folding tables. It was a tight fit, but we all had a good time. The next few years we held them in her housing complex in the community room. There was a kitchen are for us to prepare food or keep it hot or cold. There were several dining tables and chairs, enough to accommodate our large family. In the common area was a Christmas tree and we gathered around that tree for our family photo. It was such a good time. When mother started to get concerned about the children making too much noise for the other residents we rented a firehouse. There was a community hall that had enough room and tables and chairs for our needs. And, there was also a Christmas tree. Last year, when it became evident that Mom was no longer able to travel to a designated place for our gathering, we cancelled it. Nobody had the desire to get together without Mom. I truly missed this event and so did many others. Now it seems that this tradition has ended. Mom cannot tolerate having a lot of people around her. It confuses her and gets her overemotional. We do go up to the nursing home, just a few at a time, to visit her. She enjoys the visits. I recall times in the past when my sister and I would complain about having to prepare a dish that we agreed to make. Thinking of just buying pizza or not even going. When we got to the event, we noted that we always had a good time. I miss those days.