I would have never imagined, not even once dreamed of in my entire life, that the greatest Christmas gift of which I could ask for would be to return home to Kansas for the holidays. 57 of my holidays have been spent there among family and friends. I never gave a thought to the idea that I would be anywhere else to live, let alone to celebrate. In May of 2013, I left the flatlands, the prairies of my home state, to begin a new life here along the Western Slopes of Colorado. I found a different life with my husband Mike, Sally the Dog, and an entire community of friends and family at Olathe Elementary School. I wasn't so sure I could ever say it, especially in the initial weeks here so far away from what I knew of as "home", but I have most certainly grown accustomed to it. Now instead of making my home in the "Sunflower State", I make mine here in the Rocky Mountains. Now instead of having one place to call "home", I have two of them instead. It works out. Rather nicely.
Just two weeks from today, just as soon as the kids are safely out the door and headed home for this Christmas break, Mike and I will take out and head east. 611 miles to the east. It's been nearly 5 months now since I made the journey there but I have not forgotten the path in which we will have to go. Gunnison is our first stop and then it's over Monarch Mountain and the pass there which will lead us down into Salida. I will breathe a sigh of relief when we make it to that point. It's winter and that means treacherous driving sometimes here but I promise we will be careful. After Salida we slip down into Canon City and put the mountains in our rear view mirror. It's kind of all downhill from there. By the time we get to Pueblo, we are really only about 8 hours from home in Reno County, Kansas. The towns get so much closer together by that point and before we know it, we will be in Holly, Colorado, a town only a few miles from the Kansas border. Hutchinson is only 4 hours away by that point in time and we will be so glad when the car finally stops moving.
When Mike asked me what I wanted for Christmas this year, my answer was quickly given. I told him that the thing that would mean the most to me would be to just get back there and spend time with our families and good friends. I miss that place and I surely do miss those people. So home we are going. Fortunately we are able to spend a few more days there than originally planned by us and even with extra days to be there, I'm sure that the time will pass by quickly. Mike and I intend to make the most of each and every day while we are there. It will be nice to see everyone and to once again visit the old places that I used to go all the time without ever giving a thought to the fact that I would not always be there. I have grown to appreciate even more that wonderful state of where I was born, raised up in, and spent nearly all of my life in since I moved here to south western Colorado.
If the holidays are a time of reflection, a moment to stop and remember the goodness of Christmases past, then my pensiveness will be filled with memories of loving family times together, of candlelight services on Christmas Eve at Our Redeemer back in Hutchinson, driving all over the eastern part of town and looking at all the Christmas lights, and a thousand more things that have been stored away in my memory. I cannot say that I have ever had a bad Christmas because even when life was a little tumultuous, there was always someone who stepped in to be sure that I had a great holiday celebration. Always will that be my memory and the Christmas of 2014 will be no different. It promises to be a great one.
When I was a kid, one of my best remembrances of Christmas would be the fact that my folks always had a lot of people around our Christmas table. The thing was that not all those people were even family members. Sometimes there were people I didn't even know, strangers seated with us. For ten years, while our restaurant and service station were in business in Haven, we'd have our family get togethers there where the kitchen was bigger and more tables were available to sit at. It wasn't unusual at all to find more than 30 people gathered around the tables. Sometimes when travelers were driving by on the highway and thought we were open for business, they'd be hungry and stop in. They never went away hungry as my dad would guide them inside and just like at home, we'd all skoosh a little bit closer together and make room for one or two more. It worked out.
It wasn't until I was much older, married and with children of my own, that I told my mom how much I admired what they did for people at Christmas. To invite total strangers in to sit at their table for the noontime meal was actually a very honorable thing to do. I'm not sure that I even recognized that at the time it happened but I certainly do now. I always wondered why she picked up an extra billfold or package of perfume and wrapped it for putting under the tree. It was because even a stranger might show up for dinner and she didn't want them to go away without a gift. There were always enough chairs, always enough food, and always the right spirit about them. They themselves undoubtedly went without at times in order that they could provide a nice Christmas Day for their families, friends, and ordinary strangers. It worked out.
Whatever your holiday plans are my dear friends and family, I hope that they are happy ones and that you will make long lasting memories. I always tell "the 22" that I would not trade them for all of the money in the whole wide world and if you are reading this, then the same goes for you. Each of you. Any of you. All of you.
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