What a wonderful reminder of what this season should be! The scent of balsam fir and spices remind me of Christmas. As we get older it's such a time of reflection.
This is the first time in a few years that I've felt as though I was in the spirit. It's a good sign that some iota of normalcy is returning. I still remember how excited my brother and I would get, as children, over the simplest of things. We each had a $100 limit and would page through the Sears/JC Penney catalogues and mark what we wanted. I often wonder how my parents managed to do that every year, it must've been a real stretch for them.
Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Hi, Eric! @ericvancewalton It is always good to see you! Ah, yes! The scent of balsam! It was in the air all day today.
It was family day at Arlington National Cemetery. Anyone who has a loved one buried there can stop by the cemetery's entrance where you will find a Wreaths Across America humongous tractor-trailer. Filled with thousands of wreaths that they donate every single year. So, I went and took a few extra wreaths for people I know who have gone before their time, plus my own dad... anyway, my vehicle smells like Christmas, even now. :) I was too tired to write a post tonight as I am still doing #MarketFriday replies and this post's replies. These are short and easy, #MarketFriday, not so much! LOL
My parents had 9 kids. :) We had the JC Penney Sears and ToysRUs Catalog and we were supposed to circle and put our name on it. Hello? I have no idea how they managed. Probably why I believed in Santa for so long. :)
It's wonderful that Arlington does this for veterans. My Father's name is on a plaque somewhere there. One of these days I'd like to visit. I haven't been there since 1991 or so, a long time!
Whoa, 9?!?! My parents just had my brother and I and it was a struggle even for them.
As in He is buried there?
It is always such a beautiful place to visit. Peaceful. It lifts my soul. I know people think I am weird for liking it, but, a sense of peace washes over me. It's time for you to visit again.
Nine! I loved it. We never had expectations of grandeur, but, I will tell you what, there was a whole lot of love going around. I am sure my parents struggled, we never knew it and later in life, I found out that my dad did free work for the heating and air conditioning for the church because they wanted us to go to the Catholic School... and right out of NYC, a barter was born, and they put us through Catholic School ... all nine of us.
No, he's not buried there but they put his name on a plaque after he passed away from Covid. He served in both the Army and Air Force.
Coming from a small family I always wonder what it would be like to have all those siblings! People were so resourceful back then, weren't they? My Dad never made much at his day job but always had multiple side-gigs that brought in a little extra.