So Here It Is

Today is the day before Christmas. Tonight, magic is supposed to happen. The snow has already begun here, with my daughter and son-in-law set to fly eastward tomorrow. I am praying that "magic" will provide a weather window for no delays. I just want them all here safely! Hmmm...well, for the first time in a long time, the system won't allow me to make a paragraph break, so I will put an asterisk where a next paragraph should start. Sorry! *One magical Christmas Eve memory was when I was probably 8 or 9 years old. (Can't remember, exactly.) I was at my grandparents' farm, expected to sleep on the living room hide-a-bed couch in the midst of two big picture windows. I think the parents and grandparents were playing bridge or pinochle in the same living room...which they loved. I loved it, too. They laughed and had a good time...and I was always happily on the fringe of their adult world. Along about midnight that evening, a dense fog descended on the farm, and the moisture froze on every limb, twig, and blade of grass, making a hoar frost that created a fairyland out of the environs. Although I was supposed to be asleep (no one else was!), I was enthralled. I had never experienced hoar frost before, but it was Christmas Eve magic! I was 100% certain that it was part of God's message to me. *The next miracle didn't happen on Christmas Eve, but the song referred to it. My mother had just died, suddenly. My 7-year-old daughter had a solo in her school's Christmas concert for the song, "The Friendly Beasts". I didn't know what to expect. I was just numb. I sat in the bleachers blubbering like a baby as my child stepped up to the microphone and sang her verse in the clearest voice. Thank God, I have a recording of it! (I just found it a few days ago.) It was so very special to me! *The next memorable Christmas Eve occurred when my daughter and grandchildren and I spent the holiday in Florida. It was different! We were in a time-share condo. The children emerged from 21 hours in the car to put on their bathing suits and run to the surf where they ran and laughed and fell over in the sand. That Christmas Eve, we made a gingerbread house and hung stockings on a bathroom door. We prayed that Santa could find us there! (He did!) *Last Christmas Eve, Megan and Denis were traveling to California. We had made our sad "good-byes" a few days before. Nathan (my grandchildren's father), his wife, and all three children joined us (me and the other grandparents) for the candlelight service at our church. It felt great to have them there! I think they were impressed with the service. I was more impressed with how wonderful it was to be with them! *This year, my family is due to gather within the next day or two. I have purchased every stinking thing that I can for food and gifts. All I want is for everyone to be safe and happy. I'm not sure if there will be flight delays tomorrow. I could suggest that Megan just hitch a ride on Santa's sleigh! God provides. I won't be happy until all of my babies are in my clutches! *I will attend church tonight and will cry through it all. Don't ask me why! *So...to my friends and loved ones--whoever reads this--God bless you all and give you a reason to live and be happy. Merry Christmas!