I never really had a Steady Father in my childhood till I was 13yrs old and then every year for Christmas I had a Read Christmas.
My Dad and Mom sitting up the tree and my Sisters and me decorating it while Mom was in the kitchen making Cookies and, when my youngest Sister was little, coming home from school getting yelled at for eating all the cookies when we didn't, till we did catch baby sissy in the act under the table.
Then the week before all of us packing up and going to Kansas City and Hamilton MO to pick up my half Sis and Bro and going to Grandma and Grandpa's for the weekend and all of Dad's side being there to Celebrate (He was the oldest of 9 kids so that was a crowd). The Women in the kitchen cooking enough to feed an Army and Grandma with her homemade baking. Then we all gather up around the tree while Grandpa passes the presents out.
The Weekend of New Years we went to my Greatmothers house and Celebrate with all of them about the same way
Now my Dad is gone along with my Great Grandmother and grandma and grandpa is in their 80s and no longer able and my Mom is in NV, very sick and don't want to see us.
I have kids and try my best to teach and show them the same kind of family values that my Dad's side had plus every year for Christmas Dinner Make a special Birthday Cake with the candles for Jesus and read the Story of his birth to the kids and say a Prayer to him.
I do miss my family very much and wish things were different and I had someone to share these things with but I don't and have to sit here with the memories and tell the stories of these times and teach my kids and everything
