I do not remember the title of the country song but do remember some of the lyrics which begin with, “If I can make it through December….”
Having a Christmas Day birthday along with the usual holiday celebrations, these lyrics hit home a bit more with each passing year.
Sometimes many of my Christmas/ birthday memories sneak out of my eyes and roll down my cheeks as I get older.
My mom would tell me every Christmas that I was her Christmas Angel and the best Christmas gift she ever received.
Our longtime family babysitter often told me that a family dog had somehow gotten ahold of a Christmas bell from a box of Christmas decorations and was walking around making the bell ring about the same time my mother was giving birth to me at Moore Memorial Hospital in Pinehurst.
My late husband realized that the month of December was my “big hurrah” of the year. Of course, he gave me a birthday gift as well as a Christmas gift on Christmas Day, but he would surprise me during the year with another birthday gift. I would come home from work and there would be a wrapped birthday gift on the dining room table. Always a surprise!
This is my second Christmas as the sole survivor of my nuclear family. I lost my only sibling, John Parks, two years ago. We never missed seeing each other during the Christmas season. Always tried to cook a pot of collards, a favorite of his, when he came for his Christmas visit.
In all of the excitement of the holiday season, we remember … but we must take our strength and joy in what remains behind — our children and grandchildren, extended family members,and friends.
Friends are indeed the family we choose. I was so blessed recently to be given an early birthday party by longtime teaching friends with whom I worked at Morrison Youth Institution in Hoffman. I am so thankful that I had those 20 or more years working with these great women. We also make a point to get together several times during the year to stay in touch.
Helen Cox is a former journalist and educator in Richmond County.
