Friends help make Christmas special for granddaughter
Although my Christmas decorations aren’t the most spectacular there aren’t any put up with more love than these.
On Oct. 24, my husband died. Our 4-year-old granddaughter Callie arrived from Florida and asked where Grandpa was. I told her he was in heaven and tried to say all the things that would make a 4-year-old understand.
The next morning she came out and grabbed my arm and said, “Grandma, I thought about it all night and I want you to go and get Grandpa right now and bring him home.” I told her I couldn’t and tried to say the right things to her again.
They had been planning on coming home for Christmas before Jim got so sick. After they left and went back to Florida, I just didn’t think I could do Christmas this year … it just hurt too much.
I was putting garbage out in the garage and looked over and saw the Christmas cutouts my husband made several years ago. Callie has never seen them and the proverbial light went on. I couldn’t bring Grandpa back but I could give Callie a piece of Grandpa. I sent e-mails to friends and called others to help because it was more than I could do.
The response was overwhelming. I have lights in the front and back and the inside of the house is fantastic. A friend took me to Hutton House to get a tree Callie and I can decorate for the birds and squirrels. The men at Aslin Finch took the time to help me assemble a heated bird bath, a job more complicated than I could do.
A family from Reardan came in several times to help me and on top of that when the wind blew my train down on the roof, Dave drove all the way in to put it back up in miserable weather. A lovely young lady painted the window that says, “Merry Christmas Callie, Love, Grandpa.”
I dreaded Christmas this year but the love of a lot of people and the respect they had for the wonderful man my husband was has made it a very special Christmas for a little girl who loved her Grandpa a lot. This is truly what Christmas is all about and the greatest present my husband and I have ever received. When Callie gets here this week, thanks to a lot of wonderful people that lent their time or decorations, Grandpa will be here this Christmas.