Christmas Memories

Today, for some reason, I started to remember Christmas when I was a kid. I grew up in the projects in East Los Angeles. My mother received a check once a month from the Welfare as it was called in those days.

My mother had to learn how to stretch those few dollars for the whole month. In the beginning it was not easy for her or us. You see, my mother grew up on a farm and everything she needed was available to her. My grandfather owned his farm and provided well for his family.

She left home, met my dad and for a few years things weren’t so bad. But then, the bottom dropped out when my father decided to come to California for better job opportunities. Little did anyone know he would meet someone who became more important to him.

I have often wondered, what made him come back for us, then leave us at my mother’s sister home so he could go on to his new life. I believe his mother, step-dad, and uncle must have guilt him into returning for us.

I tell you this, so you understand, we had nothing, but I never felt poor. I don’t remember ever receiving the gift I wanted, but we were always happy on Christmas morning. Thanks to Mr. Rawston, the minister of the Baptist Center, he made sure families without had something to give their children on Christmas morning and food to prepare.

On Christmas morning, we woke to the smell of bacon frying, pancakes, and eggs with milk. While we ate, the smell of the turkey cooking perfumed the house. Those were the smells we woke to for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Mom would not let us open our presents until we ate and then we had to go outside to play with the other kids. Of course, I was the exception. I stayed int to watch Christmas movies and westerns.

When I started my own family, I did the same thing. I would wake between two and four in the morning and put my turkey on to slow cook and about five, I would start preparing for breakfast because I knew my children would be up early to tear into their gifts. I tried to get gifts I thought they wanted. I hope I succeeded. They never complained and always seemed happy with what they received.

When I became the legal guardian of my four-month-old grandson, I did the same for him. So now, I get to remanence and it’s a good feeling. I am so grateful for the joy my family has brought me. We had our ups and downs, our joys and our disappointments, but we pushed on.

I am blessed to have had four sons, who gave me 15 grandchildren and five great grandchildren. God has been so good to me. I still hurt at the loss of my first-born son to a car accident, but he left me a son who has given me two great grandchildren.

This is a few memories I wanted to share with you, not to make you feel sad or sorry for me. I am blessed by God and I feel his blessings all around me. Sometimes I forget and trust me, He reminds me when I forget to put Him first in my life.

I wrote my book, “Courage to Live My Dream,” about one of those dark moments in my life when I forgot and what I did to get out of the dark and into the light. You can purchase a copy on Amazon.com.

This year, 2018, has been a fantastic year and next year will be even better. Let’s do this together and make a difference in our lives and the lives of others. I want that for all of you. You, me, everyone has the potential to do great things. How about we hold each accountable?

In the comment section, let me know what you want to accomplish next year and how we can support each other. I don’t know about you, but I am super excited about 2019.

Talk to you again soon, La Wanna