Another Year Gone By

Another year is nearly gone. They seem to go by quicker these days. Must be something to do with age. I would have thought with retirement the days would go by slower, but not so. A lot has changed these past couple of years. Last September, we purchased a new house. Well not new new. But new to us. So, we've been here for a year now. This is actually our second Christmas here.
That's another thing that's changed a lot. Christmas. Usually, we get together with my brothers and sister on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, this year, my brother and brother in law were sick, so that just left another brother and me. We got together and had a very nice evening, but it sure was different from past Christmas Eves.
Back in the day when our children were little, Christmas was lively, loud, and fun. As the kids grew, they married and had children of their own. Little by little they quit attending. They had spouses and in-laws to spend Christmas Eve with. It dwindled down to only a few and this year, none of our children were going to come.
Another thing we quit doing was exchanging gifts, even our "funny gifts". Gag gifts that we started many years ago. Oh, the fun we had with those gifts. But it became more and more difficult to come up with ideas over the years. So, a few years ago, we quit doing it.
Another thing that changed was Christmas Day for us. Usually, all of my children come and some of the grandchildren. This year my oldest daughter and her husband were out of town and my oldest son and his girlfriend hosted Christmas dinner at their house for her family. One of my granddaughters is deployed and another had a baby 3 days before Christmas, so needless to say, they didn't come, and three others had other plans. So even Christmas Day is dwindling somewhat.
Not that it wasn't a nice Christmas, it was. We had a very good time at my daughter's and son in law's house, not to mention an excellent dinner. In lieu of silly gifts, my daughter suggested a white elephant game. Such fun.
And, as the year comes to an end, I look back on all that happened this year, some good, some bad. One of my brothers in law was diagnosed with cancer, a sister in law with Alzheimer, another with Parkinson, and I lost a good friend. But I count my blessings and thank God for our health, family, and love we share. For the most part, it's been a good year.

Wishing everyone a Blessed and Happy New Year!  See you in 2019