Holidays

It used to be that Christmas shopping, tree trimming, etc. started the day after Thanksgiving. Anymore, you can find Christmas items in the stores beside Halloween costumes. Somehow, to me, that doesn't seem right.

Don't get me wrong. I love Christmas. My Christmases are very different than they used to be. Ivan (my hubby of 42 years) passed away in Jan. 2008. My kids (they are so old now that they resent it when I call them "kids"!) are scattered all across the country. They do a good job of keeping in touch with me, but it's not the same as having them gather around the tree on Christmas morning as we all open our gifts together.

However, in my new (2-year-old) home in northeast Wisconsin, my holidays have been anything but lonely. I have made a ton of wonderful friends here, and they make sure that I am not alone. That is true not just on holidays, but people joke about my "revolving door" because people stop in so often. I love it! I am, in case you hadn't guessed it before, a "people person." Some people refer to me as a "social butterfly." I love butterflies, so that's fine with me. I have occasionally wondered if the reason people are so kind to me is out of pity. Afraid of the answer I might get, I refrain from asking them!

My holidays got off to a great start this year. Hal and Janice Locke live across the road and through the woods from me. They and their family has sort of "adopted" me. I'm not exactly sure what my family title is yet, but eventually I'll figure it out. Janice's daughter Judy invited me to spend Thanksgiving Day with them. To me, the best part of the holidays is children. This year, my extended family provided those kid-links. I am putting some of the pictures here so you can see why it was so special. Judy has a new granddaughter, Sage, pictured above with me (to the left). Hal and Janice are my special friends on the right above. Judy's daughter and son-in-law spent some time in Georgia, and their best friends drove all the way from Georgia to Wisconsin (through snow and wind) to be with the family. They had two children (Austin, 4 years old, pictured below right) and Jeremy (2 1/2 years old, bottom left). They were absolutely delightful. I don't remember what Jeremy was laughing at in that picture, but I have never ever seen a tot laugh that hard!

For more about Christmas and children, please visit my website at http://www.janetelainesmith.com or click on the title of this blog to go there directly.

Whatever you do, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I treasure each and every one of you.