This place on Signal Mountain has been Christmas for us all but three for 31 years — that’s not counting when my sister brought Christmas to Lebanon when my mother was too ill to travel even with the enticement of stopping at Stuckey’s on I-24 before heading up Monteagle Mountain.
This year’s Christmas is winding down. The presents have been opened; below the tree is empty space. Christmas dinner will begin soon after i carve my sister’s turkey, a tradition.
i again sit before the fire. It is the time for me to get a little solemn. i am thinking about those in our military deployed today. i was deployed hither and yon for four Christmases. The commands to which i was assigned did their best to make Christmas feel like home. There were as many decorations as available across a sea. The cooks did their best to replicate Christmas dinners. A couple like the Yosemite were miraculous.
One was with Ollie White from West Virginia who was the Korean Military Group (KMAG) Advisor for my command. Military Transport Unit One carried Republic of Korea troops to and from Vietnam. Ollie and i went to the Cam Rahn Bay officer’s club. It was empty except for the Vietnamese employees and the manager. The manager was our age and an admiral’s daughter. The three of us sat in a booth, had turkey, potatoes, and gravy (and several drinks) , and reminisced about our Christmases at home.
Not one of those Christmases filled the hole of being away from family for Christmas.
i think about those now who are celebrating while missing their Christmas at home. i wish them the merriest Christmas they can have. It’s a long way from home.
This is SO you. Always putting others in the front of the line and their wants and needs. You remind me of my father who would go to the end of the world and back to make sure others were cared for. Our mothers were always by their sides. You and I were so blessed , it’s only right that we share. Thank you for spreading that love and compassion.