Hello all my Bloggy Pals.
I have done pretty well at avoiding the blues this year even tho it is the first Christmas without Mom. Last Christmas was the first without Dad, but still having Mom to celebrate with helped to calm the grief of missing him. We still wanted Mom to have a good Christmas so we focused on the joy of the holiday - the presents and decorations and a wonderful Christmas Eve church service.
Mom also had a December birthday so there is some additional sadness this month. To help celebrate and remember Mom, I took my daughter and granddaughter to the Nutcracker on her birthday. Mom would have LOVED it and I am sure she was right there with us - watching and enjoying watching her great granddaughter at her first ballet.
I am trying to keep the Christmas Spirit and to stay busy so as not to become too sad. But is it so bad to be sad at this time of year? I am not talking about wallowing in self pity here, but just being sad when remembering the good times from past Christmases?
My church has a Blue Christmas service during Christmas week for those that have lost loved ones during the year. I am sure it is a celebration and a remembrance service and can't we all use a little bit of that at this time of year to remember those we have lost?
But I also think it is a great idea for the service to put the focus on the REASON for the season and to remember the JOY of the season as well as the grief of the first Christmas without mom. There are still a lot of firsts to come up during the next few months and I want to find a way to channel joy and good memories instead of sadness and grief.
Until next time....
Keep on Creating!!!!
