I remember a lot of snow in those days when I was a kid. There was a hill next to the church in our little town of 500 people, and they didn't have a plow, no one salted streets or sidewalks back then (yeah. I'm that old). We kids would take our sleds and we had a toboggan, and we'd have a blast sliding down that street!
On one Christmas Eve (I think), we were caught in a snow storm. I think it was in 1965 or something. Anyway we were coming back from visiting relatives in Aurora, and we couldn't make it home. I don't know where we wound up, but a family warmly allowed us to stay. Funny how my selective memory only remembers having gone into this house. Probably I was half-awake. I remember a grandfather clock. I remember it specifically because I thought that we walked into it. This may have been my creative imagination at work at such a tender age.
Later, after I married, my Christmases became super busy. There was a Christmas Eve with his family, mine, and then the next morning, we had our Christmas and then drove to Rockford to his grandmothers--a tiny house that somehow fit about 50-60 relatives--they had two hams, two turkeys, and lost of food. Gak! I was sick of all that celebrating and squeezing into the small attic at the tables they set up. It was so tight that once you got seated, you couldn't leave until all the ones in front of the door got up and left.
Eventually those days died out. One gathering of the family is now the norm. This year we couldn't go because of Dennis' back. Oh well. There's always next year.
But I do have lots of memories and pictures. I may have to pull those out and just reminisce.
I want to end this by saying THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS COME TO MY BLOG THIS YEAR!! Merry Christmas and I hope to see you in the New Year (2013!)
