Merry Christmas! Original Post 24 December 2006

Today is Christmas Eve! The last week has been just a blur...We worked very hard to get all our customers orders out in time for Christmas! We heard a couple of times from Derek. He sounded tired. Said they had been working alot of 12 to 14 hour days. They had more injured this week. One severely. Will the killing ever stop?
We have not heard from him since Wednesday. That makes us very uneasy. This is now Sunday. Dave made mention that perhaps they are keeping them busy so they won't think about the holidays and what they are missing back home. Maybe that is true....just wish we would get some word. This is always a worry.
I finally took time and finished my shopping. (What little of it there was to do). We aren't doing much for Christmas this year. Kind of hard to get into the spirt of the whole thing with this almost constant fear and worry over us. As far as I am concerned, we could just pass on it this year and i would be fine. We still have our daughter and her fiance to think about. They are having us for Christmas Eve dinner tonight. She just purchased and moved into her first home last spring, and she wants to start the tradition of having Christmas Eve dinner for us. I told her I was ready to pass the spoon. I have had this dinner for the last 27 years! Inviting friends and family. I called it-the rush is over-sit down, rest, and remember what the season is really all about. And if it isn't done by now, it just isn't going to happen!
I haven't baked one loaf of fruit bread or made 1 batch of fudge. Simply haven't had the time, energy or desire this year. We don't even have a christmas tree up! We have a few decorations scattered about. But just think, come January 1 when we traditionally put away all those decorations, we won't have much to do!
I think I have been depressing enough at this point. I have presents to wrap and a kitchen to clean. As you gather your family for your Holiday festivities-please remember that we have soldiers, sailors, marines and air men a long way from home, protecting our rights-including the right to worship as we choose-or to not worship at all! Even as much as we miss them here at home-the lonliness and emptiness they feel right now is so much greater than even they will want to admit to. Please say a prayer for them and hug your children tight.