The Five Things I Hold Dearest At Christmas(write off)
Dec 24 '00
Many thanks to Tinasamuels for organizing this write off! When I saw the post for this write off in one of the email lists that I belong too, I quickly jumped at the opportunity to participate! My favorite holiday of all is Christmas, and I knew that this is one write off I could not & would not miss. The difficult part, however, is coming up with only 5 things!!
This write off was supposed to contain "5 things that I hold dear to myself at Christmas". I had plenty of ideas, and plenty of thoughts, & many, many holiday traditions to share -BUT - I decided to come up with a list of 5 people that I hold dear to me. These 5 people have held a very instrumental role in molding my life. Please note that this is not in any particular order, just written as these thoughts came to me.
1. My Mother - My mother and I have always been very close, from the time I was a very young child, all the way through the very challenging teenage years, and as I matured into an adult - my mother and I have always shared a special bond. My mother is the person I call when I'm upset, when I'm happy, when I'm nervous & when I'm afraid. My mother has always been there for me. She has never judged me, when I make bad decisions or when I do something that she necessarily doesn't like. Instead she listens to me, and tries to guide me in the right direction.
I watched my mother struggle deeply with her decision to divorce my father and take my 4 siblings and myself to another city to start our life over. I will always respect her for the determination she had in creating a better life for us, and her ability to face her struggle head on. Somehow she managed to always keep food in our stomachs, a roof over our head, and clothes on our back, and somehow we managed to all grow into loving, responsible & productive adults. It was very difficult for all of us, especially for my mother. Despite the fact that money was always tight, and there wasn't much to go around, my mother always managed to make sure we had a wonderful Christmas, filled with lots of wonderful gifts, tasty food & traditions that will last a lifetime.
The past several months have been quite difficult for my mother, as it was discovered in October that she was in need of a double heart bypass. Naturally, we were all very, very worried about her, as she has never had any other serious surgeries. It was very difficult seeing my mother going through such a painful, difficult surgery - but her strength & determination carried us all. I have to say, I am deeply inspired by mothers willingness to fight, and I will forever her hold her dear to my heart.
2. My Son - My darling, sweet C.J. - my precious youngest child, who celebrates his 9th birthday today, I could go on & on forever about this child who has touched the hearts of so many people all over the world. From the time he was born, I knew that I had truly been blessed. What a wonderfully, happy, pleasant baby he was - always smiling & laughing, with a the most adorable face & wonderful personality. A true angel indeed.
CJ, as some of you may know, is a cancer survivor. He was diagnosed at the age of 4 1/2 with Leukemia & after undergoing 2 1/2 years of chemotherapy, bone marrow aspirations, blood & platelet transfusions, and spinal taps, he is cancer free. I have often heard people say to us "I'm so sorry this has happened to you, how awful!" Although, I do wish that my son wouldn't have had to go through something this awful, I have to say that our lives have become so much richer because of the many wonderful people we have met along the way, we have been deeply touched by the many other families we have met during CJ's dark journey into the "hell" of chemotherapy and we will never forget the faces of the many "Angels" who have not been so fortunate as CJ.
Despite the grueling chemo, C.J. always managed to keep a smile on his face. His positive attitude is what helped us endure the most difficult time of our lives. How inspiring it was to have my 4 1/2 year old son say "Mommy, don't be afraid. I'm going to be o.k."!
CJ, is my hero, and I will forever hold him dear to me, very deep inside my heart.
3. My daughter - My dear, sweet, headstrong 12 year old daughter, Tabi. Tabi is full of life & laughter and at times turmoil. While my son CJ was always smiling & laughing as an infant, Tabi was always crying & screaming, she was quite challenging, to say the least & I knew once I successfully raised her out of her infancy into her "pre-teens", that the worst was over, as she has slowly evolved into a happy, well adjusted child.
Tabi has had a very difficult 12 years. She was born 5 weeks premature, and we almost lost her on several occasions during her first few weeks in the hospital. So small, and so delicate, yet so determined and feisty, this oldest child of mine has taught me many valuable lessons, including "never give up, even when life is tough". When her brother was diagnosed with Leukemia 4 1/2 years ago, Tabi's life was turned upside down. She was passed from relative to relative while her daddy & I spent endless hours at my son's bedside in the hospital as he was undergoing his chemotherapy treatments. We tried to involve her as much as possible with his care, taking her along on outpatient appointments to the hospital & to the various tests & procedures he had done. Tabi became CJ's "protector" so to speak. As the chemotherapy ravaged his small body, and robbed him of his hair, stripping the small amount of weight he had off of his body - Tabi was there beside him, every step of the way.
Tabi is my strength, and I will forever be grateful for having her in my life. This darling, wonderful daughter of mine will always be held very dear to me.
4. My Husband - The love of my life, my "better half", my soul mate - Frank. Frank and I met 13 years ago after being introduced by two mutual friends. I'm not going to lie & say that it was love at first sight with him - because it wasn't. In fact I couldn't stand him at first. Far too arrogant and cocky for me! But I soon discovered a soft, gentle side of this muscle bound man and I decided to never let him go. Frank is a wonderful, wonderful man (why else would I have married him!) -with a heart of gold, who truly defines the word "giving".
Frank had a horrible childhood, one filled with neglect & abuse of the worst kind. We won't even go into the details here, as this is far too painful for me to share at this point in my life. Frank was very lucky, as he was welcomed into the family of one of his close friends, who quickly became more like parents to him, than his own parents who seemed to have no time or love in their life for him. This family, he met, taught him how to live & to love again. They taught him self respect & trust. They instilled in him many, many values that his own family neglected to do. Though the pain & horror of Frank's childhood will never be erased completely from his mind, many happy, wonderful memories were created with his "new family" - the family that I consider his family.
Frank is my love, my life and my happiness, and he will always be held very dear to me.
5. My Grandmother - My dear, sweet, darling grandmother, who left this earth a little over 4 years ago. What a wonderful, sweet & tenacious lady she was. "Oma" as we lovingly called her, was German. She was born & raised in the northern part of what was once cause "West Germany". Marrying at an early age, and raising 4 children alone while my grandfather served his country during a war that he despised so much, my grandmother became a pillar of strength, who always managed to hold her head up high even in the face of adversity.
My "Oma" and I shared a very special bond, as I was the oldest grand daughter of hers, and I was given her name as one of my middle names. Oh, how I loved (and still love) this person who became my inspiration when it was time for me to marry & raise my own children. I remember anticipating each and every time my grandmother came from Germany to visit us, knowing that she and I would be able to spend lots of "quality time" together - just holding hands, or talking about flowers & birds, and life in general. I remember staring at my grandmother, this person whom I loved perhaps even more than my own parents, wanting to remember each & every line on her face & wanting her to live forever & ever.
I remember a little over 4 years ago, the day that one of my brothers called me to tell me that my dear, sweet, Oma, who had battled the horrors of Lou Gerhrig's Disease for the past year of so, had died peacefully in her sleep, surrounded by her family. Oh how my heart ached, it was so painful trying to imagine life without my dear sweet Oma. That very same day, I decided to plant in her honor, tulips in my backyard. These tulips, I knew would become the most beautiful, vibrant flowers in my flower garden. The following spring, as my "Oma" tulips forced their way up through the ground & put forth the most beautiful blooms I have ever seen, I knew that my "Oma" was still with me.
My "Oma", whom I miss terribly, will always be held very deeply inside my heart & soul. It is to her, that I dedicate this review.
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Christmas to me is love & life, happiness & joy, it is a time spent with family & friends and those I hold dearest to me. Christmas is my time to reflect on the many accomplishments I have made during the year, and the many things I look forward to in the upcoming year.
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I invite you to visit the reviews of all those that have chosen to participate in this write off, including: tinasamuels, bpotter1, jenni1396,Mimi369, devolver, KyraPrkns, gargoyle23, HHGAIL, jeanniekerns, ginahill, Lunadisarm, beckish, lonelyladyk, and lucyricardo
I hope everyone enjoys a happy, joyous holiday surrounded by family & friends.
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Epinions.com ID:
mar6732
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Location: Frederick, MD
Reviews written: 248
Trusted by: 323 members
About Me:
Secretary by day, mother & wife by night.
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