Not every holiday memory ....

is filled with joyfulness.

My Father died on Super Bowl Sunday, 1977.  In order to find out what date that actually was ...January 9th, I always Google "Super Bowl Winners".  He was in the hospital in Lordsburg, NM, and we were in Alief.  We had been there to tell him goodbye at Christmas time.  He had always wanted to go up in the mountains and die under a tree like the Indians (Native Americans) did.  He could see a couple small ranges of mountains out his hospital room window.  He was 71 years old and had been in failing health for several years.

Fast forward to another holiday, Thanksgiving two years ago.   That was the day I got home from New Braunfels to find an e-mail from "the man of my dreams" telling me he had found the woman of his and I was out of the picture.  Not a huge deal since he indicated at the beginning of an almost three year "relationship" that he was still grieving a dead wife and not ready for a romance.  However, after three years you sort of hope things are coming around.  They were not.

My mistake.  I had wished for a "romance" since I was aging quickly and had been alone for a very long time.  I don't know why not one of my family or friends ever "fixed me up" with anyone, not uncles visiting from another state, not some friend's ex-husband, no one.  Perhaps there were good reasons.  Anyway, when this particular fella called and asked if I would like to go to dinner, since he was going to be up Grimes County way on something important, I dropped the phone and hollered with glee.  (It was a recording)

I won't bore you with the events that led up to this or with how I'd known him for about 40 years, him and his wife and children.

The facts are, not all holiday memories are just swell.  Super Bowls are no long played in early January, so that doesn't bring immediate memories of my Dad's passing.  However, every year at this time it is Thanksgiving and so I have an exact count of how many years ago my heart was broken (it was broken).  Today its two years.  I'm doing well, thanks for asking.  Still think about him.  Still conjure up pretend scenarios where he shows up, calls up .... or even, e-mails me to say he's sorry.  I guess he's not sorry.
And thankfully, as the years pass, I realize that is probably just as well.  We wouldn't have agreed about the election.  Tyler is much farther away than Navasota.  And I am a grateful and confirmed "loner."

So, to heck with memories, have a swell holiday filled with pleasant memories.