My Own Christmas Memories (Part 7) http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ajobebrown/jobe/letters_ch_cale_j_brewer.html CHRISTMAS (1999-2004) Today, our Christmas season starts with the Christmas Banquet at church, which is always the first weekend in December. There is always good fellowship, a skit, and great singing. Then the first Sunday night in December there is the Sunday School Christmas play. Since we taught Sunday school, ages 8-9, for over 10 years, this is a real thrill. Then sometime in mid December, we go to see the cantata, a musical play put on at church every year. Now many of our former Sunday School Students are performing the lead parts. Sometime, after this, we pray that Philip, who is in the military, will be able to make it home safe from wherever he is coming from. This is now his 4th Christmas in the military and we've been blessed to have him home every year. We do know that the time is coming and it could very well be next Christmas when we're sure he will be in Afghanistan or some other place far away. The first Christmas he was in the military, he was in the middle of basic training, but a last-minute decision allowed him to take a 10 hour bus ride from Montreal to come home for a week. The second year was a bit tricky as he was in Shiloh, Manitoba waiting his artillery course. As anyone knows the weather on the prairies in Canada can be rough this time of year. First of all he had to take a 2 1/2 bus ride to Winnipeg to the nearest airport. At this time, it had been 8 1/2 months since we had seen him as his way home would only be paid once a year. He did manage to get his plane booked and made it to the airport in Winnipeg on time. However, here is Sudbury, that year we were having a winter storm, but we did manage to make it to the airport here - which is normally about 30-35 minutes from here but that day took us an hour. Well here we were in that airport with many other parents waiting for their children to come home for the holiday. Soon a message came over the PA, saying that they were sorry to report that the weather prevented the plane from landing and it had circled the airport but flew on to Hamilton, Ontario, just outside of Toronto. So we got back in the car and headed home to wait. We weren't even home 15 minutes when the phone rang. Philip said, "Guess where I am". We both shouted, Hamilton at the same time. We told him to try and catch a bus and we would give him the money for the bus when he got here. About an hour later the phone rang again and it was Philip. Was expecting him to say that he had managed to get to Toronto and was waiting for the greyhound to bring him to Sudbury, but didn't know when the next one would be. What a shock it was when he said, "Mom, I'm at the airport." I said, "You're still in Hamilton, can't get out?". He said, "No, I'm back in Sudbury, please come and pick me up!" The plane that he had arrived on was on its way back to Winnipeg and it had said to any who 'wanted to take a chance', that they believed that they would be able to land in Sudbury this time, BUT if the weather was too bad, then they would be stuck back in Winnipeg where they started and their money would not be returned. Well my adventuresome son took the gamble and it paid off. His guardian angels were watching after him that day. And like most parents with grown children who have left the nest, our Christmases now revolve around the grandchildren. Even my children's father, his wife and their son, who is almost 16, and her children all have Christmas with us. It is 'strange' to some, but the differences are behind us, we all have our own lives now, and most of all we share two beautiful grandsons. That is what Christmas is really about. When my husband asked Evan, our grandson who will soon be 5, what Christmas was about, we got the answer you would expect, "Grandpa, Toys of course." So Allan started to tell him about it being Jesus birthday. Evan quickly interrupted and said, "Mommy and I last night was putting the figures under tree and I got to put in Baby Jesus. And Chad, our 2 year old, well he doesn't know fully what to think about things yet, but knows the man with the white beard and dressed in red at the mall gives away candy canes and 'that huge decorated tree' is taking up part of his play room in the living room but presents keep magically appearing under it that he would like to open. (and he has opened a few before Chantale could catch him)