A Warm & Fuzzy Christmas

Now that my shopping is done and my house is decorated, it finally feels like Christmas. Of course, I still have a lot of wrapping to do. I try to save money by buying gifts that are fun and unique but aren't too pricey. But that means twenty bucks worth of gifts could mean six presents to wrap. So I will, at some point this week, need to tackle the actual wrapping.

Wrapping can be fun though. I love to throw on Anne of Green Gables and be transported to Prince Edward Island as I wrap each gift. Kind of cool.

But this year is the first year that I have felt truly excited about Christmas. You see, my dad died a little over three years ago. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on October 27, 2004 and died on Nov 14 - just a few short weeks later. He was 59 years old. I spent that first Christmas still in shock I think. The whole thing had happened so fast, so unexpected. The holidays are hard for everyone that loses a loved one, but let me share a picture of my dad with you and perhaps you'll see why Christmas was particularly hard at first.

Yep, that's my dad. He spent the last ten years of his life dressing up as Santa Claus to raise money for the working poor in his community and then delivering the presents on Christmas Eve. The picture to the left came from one of his deliveries. So for four months of every year, this is what my dad looked like. Those first Christmas's, every Santa was a painful reminder. But this year I find myself wanting to fill the house with Santa Claus's because I want to remember him. I still miss him terribly , and it still hurts, but instead of trying to get through the holidays, I can remember him with joy.

So here's to a Merry Christmas!