Christmas Southern Style

Truth be told, I was a little worried that Christmas might be a bit lonely for us this year. That was before I knew how it was done in the south! Marlene invited us over to her house for a lovely happy hour Christmas Eve. I was really happy to have a picture with a Christmas tree in it this year.
And that I figured out how to use the timer on my camera.


On the way home we took a detour and stopped in at their friends Cheri and Randy. What a wonderful group of people! The kids were just classic, very polite, every sentence including a "yes mam" or "no mam". Being called mam is much better when it is done with a southern accent. Usually it just makes me feel old.

Christmas morning was white as usual, but this year for us it was white with fog instead of snow.








Dave and I planned to "do something nice for someone" on Christmas Day, not knowing exactly what that would be. Someone at the marina told Dave about a nursing home nearby and after calling to make sure it was okay we decided to spend some time visiting residents who might be alone for Christmas otherwise. We thought the nursing home was 8 or so miles away and planned to take a cab, but Marlene insisted that we borrow her car for the day. We were really glad she did, that would have been one heck of a cab fare!


So we bought some Christmas cards and wandered into Crown Nursing home not knowing exactly what to do or expect. Niether of us are all that great with small talk. It was just a wonderful experience. I don't know that I have ever done anything for Christmas that was appreciated so much. We explained to the nurses what we wanted to do and they looked a bit surprised (pleasantly), but said we could visit anyone we wanted. So we started to roam around the hallway (we didn't want to randomly wander into people's rooms) passing out cards, saying "Merry Christmas" and simply visiting with people. After a bit the nurses started to suggest rooms of residents that might like a visit.
That is how we met this woman. I don't know her name, but she will be a source of inspiration to me for a long time. She is 95 years old, lucid, teeny, and one of the happiest people I have ever met. She was curled up in a corner of her bed when we went in and started talking with her room mate. She is so small that I thought she was a pile of blankets! When she saw us she bounded out of bed with the energy of a 5 year old, found places for us to sit, offered us candy, put on her Christmas hat and told us how great she was feeling! I can only hope to be like her in another 50 years. It really is all about attitude.

We visited with about 20 people Christmas day. We were tired when we left, but it was a great experience. I have to commend Crown Nursing home, it is a modest place, but the residents we spoke to all said they were treated very well. The staff we met seemed genuinely caring. On the way out Dave commented to an Aide that she must be doing a great job because the residents all seem very happy. You would have thought he gave her a million dollars.

So that was our Christmas 2008. Different for us, but completely satisfying. I can only hope that yours was the same.