Bats in the Belfry: episode 14 (pocketbook of memories)
Family.
Life is short.
Friends (many) come & go.
Family (usually) is always there.
It must have been christmas eve, 1987 - 1988? I was around 13 years old & went with Papa & Grandma to the Ventura’s - my grandmother’s cousins. This must have followed our annual x-mas eve at Grandma & Papa’s house; back when we’d go to midnight mass with them.
We drove out to the house on the lake, and smiles abound.
Grandma
iswas, the glue that held the fabric of our family together. Maybe it is a generational thing: there are so many stories of cousins, aunts & uncles getting together in snowstorms, for birthdays, for a day trip to the park & the beach.These days, family is spread out. Different states. Working more than forty hours a week - grasping at time off to simply spend time in their own home with their own families …
That x-mas eve, shortly after we arrived & joined in the holiday festivities x-mas presents were being passed out.
A present made it’s way to me. Now, no one knew that we were coming over. That’s just what family did: show up.
I leaned over & asked Grandma, “Is this gift for me? No one knew we were coming …” Grandma replied, “There are always gifts to give … no one is left out.”
My heart bursting with holiday cheer & family in my heart, I opened my gift.
Scissors.
The most beautiful, functional, down-to-earth gift I’d ever received.
I LOVED THEM.
I can hear grandma’s laughter … No one was without a gift that night. Everyone was seen.
Every day can be x-mas when you have memories to hold on to.
