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“Misty Hollow
Carving” was launched in
October 2008
Misty Hollow Digital Images were
launched on September 26, 2012.
“Crop Circles’ Web Site” where all
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In Memory of Paxton Michael Bell
Last
evening we lit a Blue Candle
Merry Christmas and many blessings with that
wish for you and the ones that you love!
Well this is another Christmas morning, my 68th,
and about the 65th that I remember.
And oh so many memories off all of them.
I know I could write a book of the variety of Christmas mornings that I
have experienced. Each one is different.
For the past 45 years, each one of the mornings
has involved Alida and me as a family.
For 5 years before that she was in every one of my Christmases as well –
but each time then she came from her house – not mine. We dated for 5 years before becoming a
family.
For 44 years we have had kids in our
Christmas morning setting and Christmas Day. The first half of that time they
were our kids… then our daughters brought along two other kids that they
eventually married. Then 17 years ago
the first grandchild arrived and it has never been the same again. Most everything we do is about our grandkids
now!!!
But with all of this taking place so
regularly and for so many years, it is not the same for me now. I have entered a new stage in my life where
different friends of mine have lost loved ones in this past year or so. The
weight of this loss plays heavily on my mind this morning when I woke up.
Yes there is still the tingle of excitement
with the grandkids, but there are many other thoughts that temper that
excitement now.
This past year my nephew Zach and his wife
Rebecca were waiting with great excitement for the birth of their first
baby. The baby made it known that he was
about to arrive and away he came with the flurry that all new babies have. But something was terribly wrong and Baby
Paxton died a few days after his delivery.
In dealing with this grief, and because we
are all so far away from each other, last evening when we came together as a
family for our celebration on Christmas Eve, there was a Blue Candle lit in the
middle of the table. My daughter led us
with the thought for her cousin’s baby.
Almost all the families connected with Zach and Rebecca had a candle
burning either last evening or today sometime.
The Blue Candle at Christmas was Zach and Rebecca’s
very creative way to remember their little boy.
I don’t doubt that many of us will keep this tradition for years to come
as we think of Baby Paxton. A candle
company that Zach and Rebecca know have now started manufacturing blue candles
for this purpose.
That is our family’s grief. But there are many others that have faced the
same loss as we did. Their dad died, their grandpa is gone, and maybe even grandma
is no longer there. Christmas can bring
along a flood of memories when that one individual touched everyone’s life and
the impact left behind was huge.
Christmas is about memories – good and
sometimes even painful with the loss of a loved one.
My mom is facing her 25th
Christmas without my husband Clifford, my dad. I gulp a little just thinking of
that fact… dad is no longer here but his memories are. And when our first
grandson comes into the room this morning as a strong and strapping 17 year old
young man he bears the name “Clifford” – to carry on with the name and
tradition.
Christmas now is about my many memories. It
is also a mixture of some very wonderful things along with the weight of great
sadness. And I love each part. The bad
stuff comes with the good… and we say a big ‘Thank You’ to the Lord for every
part!
And while I am at it… “Thank you Lord for
giving us Jesus.”
~ Murray Lincoln ~
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