December 2nd has always been a special day for me and my sisters. This was the day we celebrated Mama’s birthday. It’s been just over 20 years now since Mama left this earth to live with Jesus and we still miss her dearly. In addition to her birthday being in December, Mama loved Christmas. This was her time of year and she worked hard during December. So as this holiday season rolls closer, my thoughts often drift to my rich memories of her.
Along with the baking, tree decorating, Christmas programs and what not, Mama was a shopper. She would shop until the rest of us dropped. I remember many times she would come home worn out but happy that she had been successful at her shopping venture. Her desire was to get everyone everything they wanted to the best of her ability and for the most part, she was very successful. As the season progressed, Mama made sure she baked all the traditional family favorites for Christmas. The aroma of baked goods filled the house. Anise cookies, cut-out Christmas cookies, rum balls were among the treats and she had this brown sugar cookie that she made with one pecan half in the middle. I remember that one being Grandpa’s favorite. She was a stickler for a real tree. We never had an artificial tree while she was around and many of the decorations had special meanings and she would tell us each year how they were obtained. She made a little Christmas snow scene on the bookshelf with little houses that lit up and sprayed with canned snow. If anyone was in a Christmas program, she was there whether it was me and my sisters in grade school or later on the grandkids. She wasn’t missing it. And poinsettias? She loved poinsettias.
Many years now have passed since she celebrated that last Christmas with us. She is the great grandmother to 18 great grandchildren that she didn’t get to know but as my children decorate their trees with their children each year, a little bit of her ornaments decorate their trees as well. I’m sure she is smiling about that. Happy birthday, Mama.
