Christmas Memories- O Christmas Tree!

Christmas is a time when memories come flooding back. It is also a time where we miss family and friends who were once an important part of our lives. Sometimes it catches us when we least expect it. My Dad was a Christmas twin. He passed away in 1996. It seems like yesterday yet forever.

 

This year I have been volunteering to read to Grade 1 students at a school near our church. I selected a book called Best Little Wingman and off I went to read with the students. It was about a little girl who rode the snowplow with her father.

 

By the end I was in tears. What I would give for another one of my father’s hugs. Then I thought of my mother and how difficult it must be for her being alone at Christmas after 50 years of marriage. It was always Dad who put the lights on the tree.

 

It was about 2 years after my Dad’s death I was over at my Mom’s and I asked about helping her put up the tree. She replied solemnly,“ I just don’t feel like it this year. Christmas is just not the same without Dad around. I’ve decided it is time to give my tree away. Do you know anyone that might need one?”

Initially I resisted but if you know my mother, you know when she decides something there is not much use trying to convince her to change her mind. Just like my mother… If she didn’t want it then there must be someone who might need one. And…wouldn’t you know… A thought popped into my mind. I had heard of someone who might enjoy having a Christmas tree. My friend Peggy was assisting a family who were recent immigrants to Canada from Ethiopia. Jacquelyn was single mother with 6 children. Her husband had been killed in their home war torn country and here she was, a refugee experiencing Christmas in Canada for the first time. When asked she replied, “I have always dreamed of having a Christmas tree.” …And so she was to have one. “This is where the Christmas tree should go!” said my mom. Mom carefully packed up the tree and all the ornaments, each of which sparkled with a memory of Christmases past.

 

The day came when we had arranged to go with Peggy to take Jacquelyn and her family the tree. We were strangers to this lady just as she was a stranger in a new country. How could she know that both she and my mother were experiencing the same loss… the absence of a husband at Christmas?

How could she know that my mother had arrived in Canada as a two year old with her parents over 80 years a go with not much more than a few
belongings?

 

With giggles and laughs we assembled the tree. It was an older tree; one that you had to color code the wire on the branches and insert them into the main wooden “trunk” of the artificial tree. Then next came the multi-colored lights and the star at the top. We decided we would let Jacquelyn’s children put on the ornaments when they came home from school. Of course we needed to plug it in to make sure the lights worked. When the lights came on I don’t know what glowed brighter. Was it Jacquelyn’s smile as she realized her dream of having a Christmas Tree had come true, or the glistening in my mother’s eyes as she visualizedthe joy that the tree would bring to this family new to Canada. Though we spoke different languages there was no underestimating the love and joy in that room. By experiencing loss and giving the tree we had received hope for joy in Christmases to come. My father would be smiling down from above.

Life has no guarantees. We all experience both sadness and joy at Christmas. My hope is that the story of this Christmas miracle gives hope for the future in the years to come.

My father, Clinton Hugh Smith was born on December 25^th, 1913. I wrote the song My Father’s Hands in his memory. Please listen and experience the love of those who are around you in this Christmas season. I’m sure there are a few angels smiling down upon us from above and sending their love too. Maybe there is some small act that you can do to bring happiness to someone going through a difficult time. It might be as simple as sending a card or calling a friend…or by leaving a memory or comment on my blog (hint hint). Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!