Christmas

Today is Christmas. This year I’ll have a guest for dinner, a friend who would otherwise spend Christmas alone. The little artificial tree I’ve had for years stands in the center of my dining room table. Christmas music will play all day on my two stereos. I’m wearing my red sweater and red socks. Late in the day, I’ll play Christmas carols on the piano. I don’t play them well enough for anyone else, but I enjoy making them come to life.

I miss the Christmases when my children were little and we together found so much joy and wonder in the day. I remember with tenderness the Christmases in Vietnam with the troops on the battlefield. I recall the last Christmas in Vietnam in 1974 when my family and I opened our home to others who were alone.

I remember all those Christmases of the past, and I am at peace. The magic of Christmas prevails.