It has been two years. TWO! Since we first got the call. Cancer. The call that will shatter any man to his knees and bring out the waterworks within minutes. The call I have seen so many other friends and family receive time after time over these past few years. And with every call the painful reminder is still as fresh as it was two years ago.
That was the Christmas we spent at the hospital with my dad. I had never spent a holiday in a hospital before. But have done so many times since then. It was a strange mix of emotions. The feeling of Christmas Joy and excitement comes to a halt as you walk through those double doors and into the stark empty hallways. Not many visitors on Christmas day... but then you realize that there ARE people there. Taking time out of their busy day to be with loved ones who can not be home with family. There are doctors and nurses and cafeteria staff who also have to be there. To them it is just a normal day of the week. Outside those hospital walls is the hustle and bustle of the holiday season yet inside those walls it is the survival of the day to day.
It was a Christmas we will never forget. And now, two years later, as I began to design my parents Christmas card... the flood of memories and emotions all came rushing back. Christmas will forever hold a new set of memories. It will always be a joyous time of celebration as we rejoice in our Saviors birth, but these memories will forever be linked to cold waiting rooms in anticipation of news from the surgeon on that Christmas Eve two years ago.
Yet as I looked at the photos for this card, through my tears I had to smile. Yes, it has been a long two years as my dad has fought this enemy within him. And yet, he is still here!! Full of life and laughter. Enjoying the moments and memories we make as a family. Cherishing each and every time the grandkids get to give him a hug. It is these memories that I will gather up and treasure in my heart. No, they will never replace the sting of cancer, but the bittersweet memories of two years ago help make the small moments and miracle of today that much sweeter.
Merry Christmas Mom and Dad!! And thank you Lord for giving us another Christmas together!!
ENJOY!
