RootsWeb is funded and supported by
Ancestry.com and our loyal RootsWeb community.
Learn more.
About Us | Contact Us | Copyright | Report Inappropriate Material
Corporate Information | Privacy | Terms and Conditions | CCPA Notice at Collection
REFLECTIONS
OF
CHRISTMAS
A Personal Note: my website. I have very stiff competition and right now I am falling behind. Please continue to cast your vote each day through December 20. Together, we can win.
BETTY JO'S STORY It was Christmas morning, but not an ordinary Christmas for Betty Jo. This was her first Christmas in the old homeplace she had just moved into. This was her childhood dream come true. This was the house that her great grandfather, Alexander Brewer, had built more than a hundred years ago. It had also been his dream, and with his vision and courage, it finally became a reality. When it was completed, he named it “Eagle Gables”. Now it belonged to her, the fourth generation to occupy it, but it would always be "Alexander's House." Betty Jo was filled with every emotion as she walked through each room, making sure everything was perfect. All of the family would soon be arriving, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers and sisters. This had been a family tradition for as long as she could remember. They all came home for Christmas. There would be laughter, mixed with tears. There would be joy as the family sat around the table, laughing and sharing their memories, but there would be sadness, too, for they will remember those who were no longer with them. Her mind traveled back even beyond those whom she had known and loved. She was thinking of all her ancestors. She never knew them, but living here where they had lived, she could imagine who they were and what they were like. The tall Christmas tree stood where it always stood and she had placed the usual miniature Moravian Star on the top. A large Moravian Star was hanging on the front porch illuminating the wreaths on the double doors. Her Aunt Ila had made the wreaths shortly before she died. Candles were glowing casting their glow on the pictures of all the past Christmases that lined the mantles in each room, and garland and ribbons trailed the winding stairs. Betty Jo opened the tall china cabinet in the dining room that held her Grandmother's best china and began setting the table. She was remembering Christmas when her Grandmother was alive. Christmas with her began with breakfast and was later followed with a full course dinner. Betty Jo was not this ambitious, but dinner would be as near as she could remember what her Grandmother served. Satisfied that everything was as she had wanted it to be, Betty Jo sat down and began reminiscing about her heritage, who she was, and all those who came before her. She was thinking of the Christmas Eve Candle Light Love Feast that she had attended last night and all the ones she attended in the past. This was the one event she always looked forward to for everyone there was always filled with the real spirit of Christmas. As she reflected upon the past and the present, and as she carried out the family tradition this year, Betty Jo would be creating memories for all of those generations who would follow her.
|