Dec 18, 2011

MEMORIES OF MAMA AND CHRISTMAS PAST: ¨While we went to the annual Christmas party for children of Elk´s my mother stayed home with a friend and created beautiful/delectable Christmas Cookies every year!

One of our family traditions
This time of year.  The Christmas Holdiays never seems complete to me without seeing/eating decorated Christmas Sugar Cookies.  When we were kids my Father took us to the annual Elk´s Christmas Party for their children ( where I never won once the extensive drawings for gifts done by Santa and his helpers but Marilynn, my sister did...I noticed) at the then glamours Elks Club, downtown, overlooking the river, in Spokane Washington.  It was a very lovely party.


Meanwhile, at home, my Mom and her Elk´s wife (then, Elks were only men) friend baked dozens of decorated Christmas Cookies for us.  It was our greatly appreciated tradition to come home to a house filled with the aroma of fresh baked Christmas cookies wafting through our house...they elevated our sense of ´Christmas Cheer and seemed to be the ¨kick of Christmas¨ that would be celebrated with days of preparation, secret gift wrapping, tree decorating and such...by Christmas Eve we were cozy and happy under the Christmas tree (we were allowed to open one Christmas Gift on Christmas Eve after ¨candlight services¨ at Church and the rest of the gifts were opened on Christmas Day...our tradition of  a way that we liked and maintaned because traditions ran anticipations high!  Of course, I´ve never met a iced sugar cookie like Moms, they are often very good, but, never the same.

·  Thanks be to God for a family who loved us
·  Thanks be to God for a family who cared for us entirely
·  Thanks be to God for the kindness and good-will of all the Days of Christmas before and now

1 comment:

chgorich said...

Dearest Len, Thank you for your beautiful post about Christmases past in your home; and the delicious and beautiful Christmas sugar cookies your mother used to make. My mother decorated sugar cookies as well. And sorts of other sweets. I still miss my mother so much. She died in 1984 at the age of 63.

The past couple days have been really difficult for me. I am depressed and am hurting deep inside. I feel lonely as I always do this time of year. I fear going out like this because I don't want others to see me feeling down.

Earlier today I wanted to drink to make all the hurt go away. Thankfully I told on myself, albeit to my online AA group on FB, and 13 people replied to help me out. Remember I just celebrated 8 years of sobriety on Tuesday.

I am just praying to my loving God to keep my safe and allow me a good night's sleep. I am also praying for my dear friend Jim who I had lunch with today. He is in end stage emphysema struggling to breathe even with oxygen. I have Stage 2 emphysema.
I curse the damn cigarette companies that stalked us when we were teen agers and got us addicted.

Please pray for Jim and all those who are suffering from whatever illness tonight, physical or emotional. Bring them peace O loving God. Make them feel safe and loved. We thank you O Gracious Lord. Amen.

And.....Felix Navidad Amigo!!!!