Reflections

As we go into the holidays, I am thinking back on some of my favorite Christmas memories.

1.
 Starting the year my dh's mother passed away 6 days before Christmas..1972
We had not done any shopping, figuring we would do it on Saturday, then when she passed away, that didn't get done.  She was buried on the 22nd, which meant that we had 2 days to shop, and a 6 year old to entertain while we shopped, without letting Santa out of the bag.  We went into the store, and this was back in the days when you actually had customer service.  A lady who worked at the store could tell we  were kind of lost, I guess, she came up to me and asked could she help.  I quietly explained the situation, and she walked down the toy area, I would point to an item, she would write it down, and when we were through, she gathered it all up, and I went to the checkout, wrote the check, and she helped me get it to the car, while dh got the boy's attention elsewhere in the store.

2.
1977, December 2nd: we were hit head on, while on a grocery run, on a Saturday evening, in a 3 car collision..which meant my car was not drivable.  We had a 3 1/2 year old, and  shopping was fun, at it's best.  The car dealership had totally pixxed me off a few weeks earlier, when I had tried to purchase a new Ford pickup, and they wouldn't sell it to me without my husband's signature.  Yes, he knew about it, in fact, he has sent me to get the truck, because it would cost large $$$s for him to take off work.  After a few days, the dealership had tried to even bring the truck to me, and the owner, who had nixed the deal the day I was there, would call me personally and apologize.  I told them that hecould shove it up his ahem cross ways, I'd buy a truck elsewhere.  Anyway, they heard about the wreck (small town) so they called and offered to go get my car and fix it, and loan me a vehicle free to drive, while it was in the shop, to get back on my good side.  They first loaned me a huge station wagon that the parts department used around town, until they could get me a smaller car. they then loaned me an almost new Pinto wagon, for the next 2 1/2 weeks.   I ran the wheels off that car, since all it was costing me was gas, and it sipped delicately, unlike the larger wagon, which guzzled like a grizzly bear.  We did finally buy a new truck from them, in 1994, after the dealership changed hands. lol.

Anyway, the spare tire well in a Station Wagon is large enough to hide many gifts.

So now you know about the two most memorable, I'll post more later