My daughter Paige is home from College for Christmas. Our first new life: Christmas without a father, without a husband. I feel as if my heart has a hole in it so embarrassed that Paige’s father was no longer family.
After decades of Christmas day’s together. I love all the holidays, but Christmas is the only day everyone is confined in the house because they want to be. The warm feel and familiarity of tradition. Same ornaments, same special breakfast, same holiday movie.
The same mess in the clean house of ribbons, wrapping paper, empty boxes scattered around and under the tree. The family is all safe, warm, full, and best of all…together.
This Christmas Paige and I are both living on Financial Aid.
Together we decided it is best to have No Presents and No Christmas tree.
Studying law in college, Paige is inundated with studies and homework no time for Christmas anyway, she said.
Paige and I sat silently in the living room on this cold, bitter Christmas Eve Day. My gray mood had turned black. No Tree. No Presents. No Christmas. I shook my head. I did not know what to do.
And then I had an Idea!