Happy Holidays

I am not really looking forward to the Holidays.

I am looking forward to the time off and visiting with family. Bette’s twin is with me right now. It is very nice having her here. We are able to share our thoughts and feelings about Bette, stories about life with Bette, and how unreal it feels not having her.

No one is perfect so there is always friction at one time or another. We even miss that. It may seem strange to miss the arguments or the misunderstandings but when she is not there every memory is a precious one. If you are reading this with a loved one, whether it be husband and wife, brother, sister, or other family member, friend, or neighbor please take the time to think about everyone in your life. Take in the good and the bad – the Yin and the Yang. You may think you only want to remember the good but as I am finding out that is not the whole picture. I have been discussing mostly the good and happy times with Bette. I want to briefly discuss a hard Christmas we had then a good memory.

It was our first Christmas; we did not have much money. We could not afford a Christmas tree so we found a branch and put a few ornaments on it. It was sort of a Charley Brown tree if you know what I mean. We were kind of ashamed at our predicament. Well we did not want anyone to know how tight we were. We did not invite any friend, coworkers, or family over so they would know. In fact I think we both worked Christmas day. We worked second shift so it made a good excuse not to do the holiday thing. At the time that was a low point but looking back at it now I see the Love we had for each other holding us together. It was a shared hardship. Some may say it was a character builder. We did not see it that way at the time.

The holidays are also bringing back other memories of other Christmas’s past. Our first Christmas spent in Florida was fun and happy. There was the drunk Santa on a golf cart wishing everyone Merry Christmas. Taking a quick trip to the beach before Bette’s sister had dinner ready. We were having so much fun in the sun, sand, and water we lost track of time and got back two hours late (sorry Brenda).

More memories keep coming back with time and I am sure more will come back as I talk to people or go places we use to go together. There will be much sadness but I am learning to embrace the memories because that is all I have left of Bette. If you have any of these stories or memories you would like to share please feel free to put them in the comments section or email them to me and I can add them to the Blog.

I wish you all a Happy Holiday season,

Jaime