A Precious and Unexpected Christmas Gift

[INTJMom]

I just had one of the sweetest experiences of my life! The phone rang, and it was an elderly uncle to whom I sent a Christmas card with my family Christmas newsletter inside. He's actually my mother's uncle. His wife was my grandfather's step-sister. He lost his wife to cancer a couple of years ago. They were married 58 years.

So he said, 'this is uncle John. I received your card and your letter about your beautiful family and I just wanted to thank you for remembering me this year. I've been kind of lonely since my wife died. Her side of the family was always so wonderful to me...'

He mentioned how much he missed his wife 3 times. And I don't know why, but every time an elderly person tells me how much they miss their deceased spouse, it ALWAYS makes me cry. I guess there's something beautiful about love that never dies.

I know a song about that kind of love.
It was written by a guy from Maine,
or at least he lived here in the adult portion of his life.
A Daisy A Day by Jud Strunk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB8G0SFmJ1g

Anyhow, while he was talking and thanking me again for remembering him, I thought back to when I was signing the card... I wondered if he even would know who I was, and I thought about whether I should maybe take him off my list, since I have such a hard time trying to keep it down to 100 people every year - which I try to do just because of the expense of it.

I can't tell you how glad I am that I kept him on my list, that I made an elderly man's day, that my letter made him feel remembered and loved - loved enough to reach out and make a phone call... just to chat for a few minutes. It might be the best Christmas present I receive this year - in fact, I'm sure it will be. Very precious... very precious indeed.

 

[INTJMom]

"A Daisy A Day"
written and sung by Jud Strunk (1936-1981)

He remembers the first time he met her
He remembers the first thing she said
He remembers the first time he held her
And the night that she came to his bed
He remembers her sweet way of sayin'
"Honey has something gone wrong?"
He remembers the fun and the teasin'
And the reason he wrote her this song.

I'll give you a daisy a day, Dear
I'll give you a daisy a day
I'll love you until the rivers run still
And the four winds we know blow away.

They would walk down the street in the evenin'
And for years I would see them go by
And their love that was more than the clothes that they wore
Could be seen in the gleam of their eye
As a kid they would take me for candy
And I'd love to go taggin' along
We'd hold hands as we'd walk to the corner
And the old man would sing her his song.

Now he walks down the street in the evenin'
And he stops by the old candy store
And I somehow believe he's believin'
He's holdin' her hand like before
For he feels all her love walkin' with him
And he smiles at things she might say
Then the old man walks up to the hilltop
And gives her a daisy a day.

(c) Copyright 1972 by Every Little Tune, Inc./Pierre Cossette Music Co.,
3 E. 54th St., New York, N.Y. (country/pop hit 1974)

 

[Salomé]

That's nice. I don't send Christmas cards. My family has never done Christmassy things and mostly it seems like an expensive and cynical waste of time to me, but I guess anything that brightens someone's day makes it worthwhile.