Just some thoughts:
Interesting the things we remember when certain holidays roll around. Seems to me holidays have a way of making us go back in time.
The phone rang very early that Christmas morning: “Uh, huh, OK, yes, I will come. I will be there as soon as I can.” I hung up the phone. “Who was that?” my wife, waking up, asked. “It was Mom. She said Dad has taken a turn for the worst, looks like he might not live through the day.”
I traveled about two hours back to what once had been my home, Terre Haute, Indiana. I left my wife and small children on this Christmas morning. Walking down stairs I passed the tree with all the gifts underneath. The tree all decorated and the lights on. It looked like something out of Norman Rockwell painting.
About two hours later arriving at the hospital, the parking lot was rather empty. Not many folks at a hospital on Christmas day. Walking into the lobby, I caught the elevator and was the only one riding.
For the rest of the day and well into the evening, I sat with my mother as they attended to dad. He had been in the hospital for some time. It was oh so quiet; you could hear every sound. Off in the distance, you might have heard a phone ring or footsteps of a nurse as she made her way up and down the hall. Lunch and Christmas dinner consisted of a sandwich from a vending machine, a bag of chips and a coke. Later that day, one of the nurses on the floor brought us some coffee and a piece of homemade apple pie. Surprisingly, my father did live through the day, passing a few days later.
“Merry Christmas” is an expression we often hear this time of year. Today as I sat by myself drinking my early- morning coffee at my coffee place with Christmas just being five days away, that memory came back to me. It has never completely left.
“ Merry” for some at this time of year can be anything but; cancer, divorce, death, downsizing, job loss, fill in the blank. At this time of year, there are those who need our remembrance, our support. Something that simply says to them, “I know you are out there, and I know that Christmas is not always Merry for you.”
Often, I still think of that December 25, 1974 and how my family and I spent that Christmas day.
December 20, 2012
Keep on,
Larry Adamson
Interesting the things we remember when certain holidays roll around. Seems to me holidays have a way of making us go back in time.
The phone rang very early that Christmas morning: “Uh, huh, OK, yes, I will come. I will be there as soon as I can.” I hung up the phone. “Who was that?” my wife, waking up, asked. “It was Mom. She said Dad has taken a turn for the worst, looks like he might not live through the day.”
I traveled about two hours back to what once had been my home, Terre Haute, Indiana. I left my wife and small children on this Christmas morning. Walking down stairs I passed the tree with all the gifts underneath. The tree all decorated and the lights on. It looked like something out of Norman Rockwell painting.
About two hours later arriving at the hospital, the parking lot was rather empty. Not many folks at a hospital on Christmas day. Walking into the lobby, I caught the elevator and was the only one riding.
For the rest of the day and well into the evening, I sat with my mother as they attended to dad. He had been in the hospital for some time. It was oh so quiet; you could hear every sound. Off in the distance, you might have heard a phone ring or footsteps of a nurse as she made her way up and down the hall. Lunch and Christmas dinner consisted of a sandwich from a vending machine, a bag of chips and a coke. Later that day, one of the nurses on the floor brought us some coffee and a piece of homemade apple pie. Surprisingly, my father did live through the day, passing a few days later.
“Merry Christmas” is an expression we often hear this time of year. Today as I sat by myself drinking my early- morning coffee at my coffee place with Christmas just being five days away, that memory came back to me. It has never completely left.
“ Merry” for some at this time of year can be anything but; cancer, divorce, death, downsizing, job loss, fill in the blank. At this time of year, there are those who need our remembrance, our support. Something that simply says to them, “I know you are out there, and I know that Christmas is not always Merry for you.”
Often, I still think of that December 25, 1974 and how my family and I spent that Christmas day.
December 20, 2012
Keep on,
Larry Adamson
My husband (Larry James, TH Gerstmeyer ’61) left for TH a couple of days before Christmas in 1987 for the same reason. His Father Passed Away on Christmas Day, as he came North to meet me & our daughters. We had a snowstorm & he didn’t want me to have to drive all the way alone, so he met us halfway in Kentland, IN. When we got back to the hospital, his Dad had passed away during the 2 1/2 hours he was gone. I always felt bad that he had been coming to meet us, but he felt that his Dad had almost “waited” until then to spare him…(They say people seem to do that many times). At any rate, it was certainly an example of families having some “not-so-good” memories at Christmas & other Holidays. Two years later, his Aunt had a stroke at Christmas Dinner & passed away 2 days after. Our children said that they weren’t sure they wanted to celebrate the next year. I just want to add my agreement that it is nice reach out to those not having such a good Holiday Season.
Judy–first thank you for reading the blog and posting…you know Christmas sadness..don’t you…by the way…I have no idea how you got the blog….Connie Motz is my wife cousin…you probably know that..I knew Larry your husband…a good/good guy I was at ISU from 1960-64/ our email address is Larry1326@aol.com
Larry Adamson