Here’s to a Merry Christmas…

         whatever that may look like!

 

Christmas 2020! I don’t think we will forget this year! It will be known as the Christmas that was different….for sure. But I hope for you, there will some kind of shining light.

Maybe your shining light will be a family Zoom, Skype or FaceTime. Maybe your shining light will be a socially distanced visit, in shifts, from family. Maybe that shining light will be a special phone call made or received. Maybe your shining light will be getting that gift that you have wished for. Or maybe, your shining light will be just a smaller group around your table. Whatever your shining light is, let it shine brightly! We all need it!

One thing I know, Christmas will still come and I will still love this time of year.

After a roller coaster of emotions and conversations, I was able to figure out a time and place to get to see Katie, Anthony and Gabriel. On Monday, I drove to Northern Kentucky, to an Airbnb that Katie’s family was staying in. This location gave them easy access to Greg in Cincinnati, and it was an easy ride for me to get to them.  *For those of you who don’t know, the Cincinnati bridge has been shut down for several weeks.

I arrived around 2:30, mask on, to a smiling Gabriel! We unloaded gifts from my car and started our visit, all while wearing our masks inside the house, socially distanced! Having bags of gifts in the room with a 15-month old doesn’t last long! So, we started our gift exchange and while Gabriel enjoyed opening gifts, he was definitely more interested in the over-sized box and throwing wrapping paper balls!

We had snacks (individually plated) and then it was time to say goodbye. I left the house at 5:30pm, with tears in my eyes. I was so grateful for the few hours together but it left me yearning for more.

Traffic was heavy, as it usually is, but I got through it with a smile. Then, as I was approaching the Sparta exit off of 71, traffic came to a screeching halt. Now, I knew there was a lane closure in the Carrollton area, but this traffic was standing still…no movement at all. This was 6:30pm.

Approximately, three hours later, we started to move. Yes, you read that right…THREE hours of sitting still in the car. I was surrounded by three semi-trucks so there was no moving for me.

As we started to slowly roll, flashing lights and white headlights headed towards me, in the right lane (I had been in the left lane, anticipating the one lane closure near Carrollton). These lights were from three tow trucks and police escort vehicles. Two of the trucks were pulling what was left of the semi-trucks and one truck had the third vehicle, a mid-size car, loaded on it. I’m certain this accident was a fatal one. It gave me a cold chill to see these vehicles so close. I arrived shortly after 11pm…a five-and-a-half-hour ride for what should have been about two hours.

I am sharing this with you all because it made me realize that life is so fragile. We never really know what tomorrow will bring.

This accident snapped me out of my pity party, the one I was having since I won’t see Katie, Anthony and Gabriel on Christmas. I realized how lucky I was to be able to have a few hours with them that afternoon and I was extremely grateful that I left when I did because timing is everything and I fortunately did not witness that accident.

Christmas will be different, for sure, but it will have love and laughter and I’m okay with that. Actually, I’m more than okay with that.

Find your shining moment on Christmas! Pictures today are from my visit with my buddy Gabriel and a picture of some of our family from my Dad’s birthday on Saturday!  Merry Christmas to all of you!! XOXOXO