My great-grandmother Melissa Davis passed away right after Christmas when I was 18. My favorite Christmas tradition began lots of years before that (I'm not sure when it started) and still continues today. Grandma Davis was bedridden for as long as I can remember. I think I remember seeing her not in bed one time in my entire life, although I believe she became bedridden when I was a young girl. She lived with my great-aunt Alice, who so unselfishly took care of her for those many years. Almost every Sunday, our family would make the 1/2 mile walk down to Grandma Davis' to sing for her and visit. I can still remember her soft, tender voice and her sweet smile. One vivid memory for me is one Tuesday night, my parents were leaving to go to a meeting and they told my sister and me that it would be great if we could go visit Grandma & Alice. I think I was about 12 or 13 and my sister 2 years younger than me, so we were a little nervous about going by ourselves. But the thing that really bothered us was that it was dark, cold, and really windy. In the small town where I grew up, there weren't very many street lights and not very many houses even to light our way. Well, it was a challenge for us but we decided to head out on our own...it definitely put meaning to the term 'dark and stormy night'. We walked as fast as we could to get there, pulling our jackets tight around our shoulders, and bracing our bodies against the wind. I will never forget the feelings I had as Aunt Alice opened the door and the light streamed out into the night, and as we walked into that tiny, warm house. I don't remember what we talked about or even if they were happy to see us (although I'm sure they appreciated the visit) but I will always remember that it didn't seem so cold and dark as we trudged back up the hill to our house that night.
Anyways, I digress. At some point, my family started making a huge Christmas breakfast and taking it to Grandma & Aunt Alice on Christmas morning. It seems like I was almost always involved in taking the plates loaded with food and getting the opportunity to visit with them for a few minutes. Then we'd go home and enjoy our meal as a family, and in later years, my grandparents started joining us every year for breakfast. I got to go with my dad right before Grandma passed away and I don't think she ate anything that year. She wasn't doing well and we knew it wouldn't be long. Well, Grandma did pass away shortly after that, early in the year of 2000. But my parents continue to take breakfast to Aunt Alice and we still have my grandparents over too. It has become probably my favorite tradition, one that I am going to miss this year since we are staying here at our own home for Christmas (a first in our marriage). I guess I'll have to make a big breakfast anyway...does anyone want to come?
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