I never knew at all my Grandmother...mother's mother. But what I do know is that my mother sat by her at Christmas time, holding her while she was dying and she sang a hushed and impassioned song to her as she slipped away. Silent night.
So isn't it funny that I cannot get through a single verse of that song without a lump in my throat and without welling up in spite of the fact that I never laid eyes on Grandma. That feeling alone speaks to me of the ties that family brings to the table. It is an emotional gene pool that extends beyond our skin to those who join us in our walk on this Earth. I can still feel my mother's pain when I attempt to get through that song and I know that on some level, my boys have inherited that emotion surrounding Christmas. That is what families do - they share their victories and they share their pain.
We are busy decorating the house, collecting pine boughs for the urns, picking out our favorite wrapping paper and are desperately trying on a different Christmas this year. Jan always was with the boys on Christmas eve when they were little. Being of German blood lines - this was when his family celebrated and I got to tuck them snuggly into their cinnamon sprinkled sheets that night with great anticipation for the following day.
So this year Christmas eve will be "Silent night , Holy night."
and Christmas day will be " all is calm, all is bright" as we who still remain in this family realize that we are together and all is well.
" Round yon virgin ( well that has to be me) mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild.
Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace."
The last part is where we wish all of you tender sleep with dreams of another day where you are together and perfect as you are and complete .
So with a lump in my throat and tender swelling eyes, I forge forward into an uncharted season of love and giving and I thank my lucky stars that we have people like you out there who cry at commercials, who fret about their children, who look to the future with impassioned hopes and dreams...and we wish you silent nights, holy nights. And we hope that you too sleep with heavenly peace.
Happy Holidays from the Lindsay/ Potter household.
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12 comments:
In this Season of Light, Joy, Peace and Remembrance we wish you, Sharyn, Caleb, Max and Kai and all members of the Lindsay/Potter familia all that is Bright and Beautiful. Know that we continue to stand with you all in knowledge that each day is a gift, every smile an acknowledgment of Love and Acceptance, and every tear a multifaceted jewel, a revelation of what has transpired, what is, and what is yet to come, and GRATITUDE for all of it.
On Christmas Eve, Mari and I will sing a duet of Silent Night in Spanish in remembrance of YOU, your beautiful family, lovely home and gracious spirit....from W MA to Fleet the sound will go out....Noche de paz, Noche de Amor, todo duerme en de redor.....In doing this we also pay homage to my family who are all in CA, my mom who passed last year at 93, and our Dear Kebo, with his waggy tail, who left us at 16 yrs young, a few weeks ago..We SING with GRATEFUL HEARTS.
Blessings of the Season and PEACE to all gathered here...
Silent Night, Holy Night, All is calm, ALL IS BRIGHT~
Melinda and Maru
Silent Night gets me every time...we close our candle-lit church service with it each year and it's all I can do to not sob!
We, of the Bird household, wish you and yours all the joy and love of the holiday season.
To the Lindsay/Potter family and to all of you out there in cyber-space I wish you Season's Greetings and many more happy returns.
Love and best wishes,
Penny
dear dear sharyn
your words move me, sometimes to a point where i have no words to give you in return.
you are such a beautiful soul. i know how you feel, christmas music has a way of making me feel sad too. for different reasons, but still .... sad is sad, and a lump in the throat is a lump.
know in your heart that we (josh and i) are thinking of you all (potter/lindsay clan) every day. and we also think of this whole cyber family and hope that EVERYONE has a wonderful joyous season filled with big smiles, loving hugs, warm hearts and sugar plum wishes.
from our house to yours
happy holidays
amy in ct
from Anne:
...and so the world is joined in love and the beauty of the human spirit; thank you, Sharyn. The following link is SO inspiring, have a listen and a look:
http://www.youtube.com/user/PlayingForChange
(copy and paste link into your browser)
One of my son's best friends is involved in the Playing for Change films that Sky & Anne referenced in their post. It's good to hear that their "movement...to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music" is gathering momentum.
May you all find peace, inspiration, and new connections this holiday season.
NY/Wellfleet Mom
Sharyn,
Your words are so moving!
No one can take the good memories away from you!
We are all so thankful to have you and your family...
Kevin
You guys cry at commercials,too?
Have a joyous holiday season everyone and especially the Lindsay/Potter clan.
I wonder whether we're all talking about the same ad ...the one that got to us played "in the arms of the angels" and showed sad animals needing homes.
Thanks Sharyn and tribe, for the good tidings, sharing of stories, lessons, hope, and a sense of community. Wishing you peace.
Sharyn,
Your words and story have meant so much to my family. As your entries have shown so many times, there are blessings, even at the darkest moments.
My sister Maria was a dedicated follower of your blog and our family has felt very connected to yours. Maria died unexpectedly this year. She loved Wellfleet and pirates and the like, so these past few months we decided to try and solve a treasure hunt as a distraction of our grief.
About a week ago, our family found the treasure that has eluded treasure hunters for 18 years. Yesterday we were given the prize, a real jeweled and gold crown. I share this story because it feels so connected to Wellfleet and to everything Maria loved. If you're interested you can read more about it on our blog: http://www.teamria.org
Winning the crown and getting together in a way that didn't feel like something was missing but rather something found - perhaps the beginning of healing and accepting our family as it is now - was one of those blessings for us and it felt like a story that needed to be shared with those Maria cared so much about.
Best wishes for healthy, joyous holidays,
Sabra
Hello Sharyn,
I guess with Christmas literally around the corner and all the snow you all have been having has slowed the "blog" down but I am assuming that all is relatively well and the words will eventually start flowing once again.
To all I wish a very Merry Christmas and the Happiest of New Years.
Love and best wishes,
Penny
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