{"id":4884,"date":"2019-12-11T15:35:50","date_gmt":"2019-12-11T15:35:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kelolandblogs.com\/lundatlarge\/?p=4884"},"modified":"2023-07-20T20:59:59","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T20:59:59","slug":"christmas-beginnings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/christmas-beginnings\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Beginnings"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re allergic to corn, or are diabetic, stop reading now!\u00a0 It\u2019s about to get awfully corny and sugary sweet around here.
\nAs I close in on my 74th Christmas, I got to thinking about which ones have been the most memorable.
\nThe first Christmas I have any recollection of at all was in 1949 when mom brought home a new baby brother from the hospital. At the time, I would have preferred more presents but, as it turned out, he was an okay gift.
\nThe year I got a ukulele was a wonderful Christmas. My cousin, Cliff, showed me how to tune it (\u201cmy dog has fleas\u201d C.G.E.A.) and to play a few chords. I strummed those\u00a0chords non stop\u00a0for two days and about drove my family nuts but it turned out to be the beginning of a musical career that continues to this day.
\nOne of the saddest Christmases was in 1963..just a month after President Kennedy was assassinated. On Christmas Eve, one of my uncles insisted on playing a phonograph record he\u2019d just bought of Kennedy\u2019s most memorable speeches with the sound track from \u201cCamelot\u201d playing in the background. It was too much and I went for a long cold walk so others in the house wouldn\u2019t see me cry.
\nIn the late 60\u2019s it was a delight to watch my two little girls experience the joys and wonder of\u00a0 Christmas..only to see it replaced a few years later with sadness and worry as they were\u00a0left to wonder why their mom and dad had to split up.
\nAnother marriage that began with promise, high hopes, and a few joyful Christmases, ended with a sour separation and divorce.\u00a0That\u2019s when I vowed never to marry again.\u00a0I was just no good at it.\u00a0\u00a0Then I met Linda..a recently divorced mother of three who lived in my neighborhood. We got to be friends first..sitting\u00a0for hours\u00a0at a time drinking wine and talking.
\nShe had pretty much reached the same conclusion as I; that another marriage just wasn\u2019t in the cards.\u00a0But as our relationship grew, things changed and we\u00a0began to consider the possibility.. but\u00a0not until Christy, her youngest who was only 11 at the time, graduated from high school.This went on for over 3 years. It got to the point where\u00a0all five of our kids were dropping hints about moving this thing along already.
\nSo, in December of 1983 when Linda was off shopping, I cornered Brenda, James and Christy and told them what they already knew; that I loved their mother, would never do anything to hurt her and wanted their\u00a0 blessing to propose marriage.\u00a0Well, they each started laughing, gave me a hug and said, \u201cIt\u2019s about time!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Three down, two to go.\u00a0\u00a0Considering\u00a0all that I\u2019d put them through with two previous failures, I figured my girls, Suzan and Patty, might be a tougher sell.\u00a0\u00a0But, as usual, I was wrong.While nervously\u00a0trying to find the right words and give assurances that this time it would be different,\u00a0both my daughter\u2019s eyes fill with tears.\u00a0 As the three of us embraced, they said, \u201cDad, we just want you to be happy. Besides, I think we love Linda about as much as you do.\u201dSo the big surprise was set.\u00a0\u00a0The seven of us, and grandbaby Tara, would have Christmas Eve dinner at my house..after which I would say \u201cHow about some ice for dessert?\u201d At that point, I\u2019d bring out the modest ring, purchased at Vern\u2019s Diamond Shop in the basement of Lewis Drug Store, drop to my knee and ask Linda to marry me.\u00a0Throughout dinner, I was sure the kids were going to blow it\u00a0because they kept staring at the both of us and smiling. But the whole thing came off\u00a0as a\u00a0total sweet surprise and once Linda saw everyone around the table was in complete agreement and shedding tears of joy, she said \u201cYes!\u201d
\nThere have been some wonderful Christmases since then as our combined families have continued to grow in size and love.\u00a0But that night, 36 years ago, with all of us sitting around a candle-lit Holiday table in anticipation of the big question, will always be the happiest and most memorable Christmas of my life.\"Lund<\/a><\/p>\n

A more recent photo of Linda, me and “the kids.”<\/p>\n

(L to R) Me, Suzan, Linda, Patty, Brenda, James and..in front..Christy.<\/p>\n

May God bless you and your family this Holiday season as richly as He has ours!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re allergic to corn, or are diabetic, stop reading now!\u00a0 It\u2019s about to get awfully corny and sugary sweet around here. As I close in on my 74th Christmas, I got to thinking about which ones have been the most memorable. The first Christmas I have any recollection of at all was in 1949…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[60],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4884"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4884"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11477,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4884\/revisions\/11477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}