15 December - What I'm Thankful for Today

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Today will be a different kind of thankful post. Amber wrote a post about who your favorite person was/is. That put me in mind about my favorite Christmas memory. So, today, I'm thankful for memories. My favorite memory that I'm most thankful for happened when my daughter was five years old and we were living with my grandmother for a few months. My husband had just gotten out of the Navy and we were on our way 'home'. Relationships were always hard for me. I managed to get on the wrong side of my father-in-law and wasn't welcome in his parent's home. I didn't get along with my parents well enough to want to spend time with them until we found our own home. So, that meant asking my grandparents if I could stay with them. I enrolled my daughter in the Lutheran Kindergarten. She did amazingly well. I say that because the Kindergarten teacher she had in San Diego said she would be behind because she didn't do well with her large motor skills. At the new Kindergarten she took off like a jackrabbit. They didn't focus on the motor skills but on reading. My youngest son was also with me. He was two at the time and going through name changes. He's the Third. I couldn't call him by his first name because that got confusing in a hurry with his father's name. So after many failed attempts at a name, I/we settled on his middle name. He's still called that. He only uses his legal first name on documents. Anyway, this is about memories. My grandmother loved having us live with her. She came alive with two young children in the house. It was Christmas and my grandmother put up the tree and we went shopping. Oh what fun! I now know the trouble of being elderly and becoming exhausted by all the shopping we did that day. Grandma was in her element. Much as I would be if my great grandchildren would come to visit me. But, this is about then, not now. During the time leading up to Christmas, I would sit at the piano and practice Silent Night. I wanted to play it without the hymnal. Now, Grandpa was always in the living room when I practiced at the piano. I had no idea he paid attention to my playing. There were times I would practice with the ear phones on so Grandpa could watch his soap opera or a ballgame. Yes, Grandpa loved Days of Our Lives. He never missed it. Mom and Dad came to visit close to Christmas. I wanted to play the song for them. I had practiced so hard. I knew it by heart. Yet, I was scared of making a mistake as I played. My parents were super critical of everything I did. Anyway, I sat at the piano. Grandpa was in his usual place in the chair in the corner of the living room. I started to play, making so many mistakes I felt humiliated. Mom started to say something to be cut off by Grandpa. He yelled at me. He told me I could play better than that. It was in that moment I loved my Grandpa more than I ever did before. He paid attention to me. He rooted for me. He wouldn't let my parents say anything bad to me. I started over and played Silent Night flawlessly. My parents were impressed. I was happy because Grandpa showed me he cared and loved me enough to tell me to play it again. He put his son and daughter-in-law in their place. It was the happiest day of my life. I am most thankful for the memory of that time with my grandparents. Christmas was also wonderful. My husband and older son came up from Illinois so we could be together as a family. It was the best Christmas I had with my family and my grandparents. What favorite memory do you have that you are most thankful for? Thanks for reading. The image belongs to me. Grandma and my daughter.