Merry Christmas from Heaven...

I was e-mailing with my friend Katie today and the subject of holiday traditions came up. That got me to thinking about my traditions for holidays. I've had some spectacular Christmas's through the years, but Thanksgiving is probably the one that has carried more meaning. Growing up, all of my grandparents lived in Southeast Texas in a small town called Kirbyville. We went there often. ALL holidays were spent in Kirbyville as well as many other weekends throughout the year.

I was thinking about what happened for Thanksgiving, and it was usually the same. Thanksgiving morning, all of the men got up and headed out to the "hunting club". Sometimes someone killed a deer, usually we just went, hunted, then hung out for a while before heading back to get dressed for the big feast. The Aggies always sucked (yeah, things change when you marry an Aggie), and the Cowboys just had to win.

After lunch, Nana and Grandaddy (Mom's parents) always gave out envelopes to everyone. This was the Christmas money. It was always something to help everyone have a little better Christmas. I always got $50. As a kid, Grandaddy always took me the next day down to City Shoe Shop and with my $50, I got a pair of cowboy boots. As I got older, the amount and what I did with it changed, but the envelope was always a tradition.

As time went on, relatives moved farther away and their traditions changed, but ours was the same. We went to Kirbyville, we went hunting, and Grandaddy gave out the envelopes. Grandaddy and I shared a special connection through hunting. 24 years ago, I killed my first deer while sitting in the stand with him.

Time passed, Nana died, and the traditions sort of died. I still hunt every Thanksgiving, and hold onto the memories of years past. We still always saw Grandaddy sometime around Thanksgiving, and usually that's when he gave us the envelope with our Christmas money.

This year is different... We lost Grandaddy this year. It is sort of bittersweet for me. I will still hunt Thanksgiving morning, but this year I'll be hunting with the rifle he let me shoot my first deer with. He knew how special that gun was to me, and while he was laying in a bed in MD Anderson, he told me he wanted me to have it. I hope he knows how much I appreciate having it.

Last weekend, we got together with Mom and Dad to have an early Thanksgiving dinner. After dinner, they surprised us. For each family, there was an envelope. From Grandaddy. I know Mom put it together for us, but She said Grandaddy would have wanted it that way. In the envelope was a card. It read:

Merry Christmas from Heaven (by John Wm Mooney, Jr)

I still hear the songs,
I still see the lights.
I still feel your love on cold wintry nights.
I still share your hopes and all of your cares.
I'll even remind you to please say your prayers.

I just want to tell you, you still make me proud.
You stand head and shoulders above all the crowd.

Keep trying each moment, to stay in His grace
I came here before you to help set your place.

You don't have to be perfect all of the time
He forgives you the slip, if you continue the climb.

To my family and friends, please be thankful today
I'm still close beside you, in a new special way.

I love you all dearly, now don't shed a tear
Cause I'm spending my Christmas with Jesus this year.

We love you too, Grandaddy.


bloggers note: There are other special holiday traditions and get-togethers with both sides of the family. This particular tradition is just what was on my mind today, so I wrote about it.