Christmas!

It is beginning to look alot like Christmas! All of the kids are super excited as they get a long break from school to celebrate Christmas. Tomorrow we are going to my nieces for our first family get together and I am excited. There will be close to twenty of us which includes two additions from last Christmas. The kids are so cute and will be fun to get them together.
I know I am wrong and I really try to do better but for me Christmas just isn't what it use to be. I do love getting everyone together and try so hard to help create traditions and memories for the grandkids. Our house burned a few years ago two days before Christmas and since then I have not even put up a big Christmas tree. That year all of my gifts were smoked and ruined, my tree was burned up and I spent Christmas in the Jamison Inn. We stayed there for almost a week and in a bed and breakfast until Easter week-end while our house was redone. It still makes me sick if I allow myself to think about it and I choose to try to block it out pretty much. I do realize how fortunate we were and how much worse things could have been. And I do thank God nothing tragic happened form that but it still makes me sick when I think about it... Despite this I am looking forward to family and friends and try to slow down long enough to be thankful for the true meaning of Christmas.
Monday I am having lunch with 10-12 people I graduated with and look forward to this visit. It will be short and everyone will have things to do afterwards but I am thankful to still have contact with several classmates.. Gosh I am getting old!!!