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| Madonna and Child by Il Sassoferrato, circa 1650 |
Well, fellas, Christmas has come round again, with its timeworn message of peace, goodwill to men. A message this old world desperately needs to hear - but is anyone listening?
As I've been preparing this post, I've tried to think of how to express what Christmas means to me, but my sluggish old man's brain has been slow to respond. However, I happily discovered that I already said those things in this Christmas post from 2022, if anyone cares to read it.
Sadly, Christmas at our house is not as bright and gay as it has been in Christmases past, when all four of M.P.'s adult children, their spouses/partners, and the four grandkids came for a deluxe banquet that took weeks to prepare, not to mention Christmas decorations hung up and lights strung up inside and outside the house. It's the only time any of them ever come to Papaw's house - all other holidays and birthdays, he has to go to their houses. But now one family has decided they don't want to come crowd around the table this year, for some specious reason, and that has snowballed into a family rift, so M.P. is not speaking to any of them just now. It has really ruined Christmas for him, and made him physically ill, too. The only decoration he's put up is a wreath above the fireplace, nothing more. No Christmas tree, no outside lights. Nada.
But after a month of sleepless nights, M.P. is feeling better this week, and has begun preparations for our usual Christmas dinner a deux, which will feature his luscious Red Cajun Duck, something that is out of this world. And we will have another lovely dinner on New Year's Day, and a third on Kings' Day. And life goes on. No doubt in time the family problems will straighten themselves out, though I'm not sure we'll ever host a big gathering again as we have in years past. I do wish some of my truckbuddies lived nearer, so we could invite them over for a really festive dinner now and then.
Anyway, I wish all my truckbuddies a very Merry Christmas with the ones they love. Here's one of my favorite Christmas songs in a thrilling a cappella version by Heart that I just now discovered. Crank it up, sit back, and enjoy.
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1 comment:
Merry Christmas!
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