TheBanyanTree: TheBanyanTree post from larwos at optusnet.com.au

[Sachet]

Awwww........what happy tears to share with you!!!!

Merry Christmas, Sal!

And everyone!!!!

....Sachet

Sachet wrote:

>
> Subject:
> Our best Christmas ever
> From:
> "Sally Larwood" <larwos at optusnet.com.au>
> Date:
> Tue, 25 Dec 2007 22:36:16 +1100 (AUS Eastern Daylight Time)
>
> To:
> <thebanyantree at lists.remsset.com>
>
>
> Happy Christmas everybody.
>
> I know you haven't heard from me for a long time, but I just had to 
> share my wonderful day with everybody.
>
> Our Christmases have for years consisted of all of our family plus 
> partners, getting together for a meal of roast turkey, roast chicken, 
> ham and a huge range of roast vegetables, peas, broccoli, cranberry 
> sauce and gravy, followed by Christmas pudding, icecream and custard.  
> It has also been the tradition of those who don't like Christmas 
> pudding to have icecream and custard.  I almost always do the cooking.
>
> This year, as both Chris's parents are wheelchairbound in a high care 
> facility, we decided our place would be the most practical and we 
> organised for two cars to go and pick up 'the olds' and wheelchair at 
> 12 noon, to return them late afternoon.  As they are both in their 
> nineties now we made sure we had them with us today as it could be our 
> last chance to have them with us for this special family day.
>
> The only member of our family, who wasn't to be present was our 
> daughter Christa who has been working in London for the last three 
> years and who would visit later in 2008.
>
> For some reason for the first time in the last three years, I have 
> been rather weepy for the last month as somehow I was missing Christa 
> even more that usual and this problem was exacerbated by the fantasy I 
> kept having of preparing for Christmas and hearing a voice behind me 
> saying, "Hello, Mother Dear", and Christa would be standing there.
>
> This morning as I prepared for Christmas dinner after attending the 
> most wonderful Christmas Service at the Church where my cousin is the 
> minister, I kept finding tears coming into my eyes as I thought of 
> Christa, However, then Pippa and Lachie arrived to help set up and 
> cook the vegetables, our closest friends, Robin and Denis arrived with 
> the pudding and Christmas cake and Denis started carving the ham.
>
> I had the best help in preparing that I've ever had in all my years of 
> cooking Christmas dinner, and just as everything was just about ready, 
> Chris arrived with his father in tow, and our Alison with Chris's 
> mother.  Alison's new fiance Nick wasn't here yet, but he was on his 
> way after visiting his parents before they went off to a relatives for 
> lunch.
>
> Soon all were here, and we decided to have lunch then give out the 
> presents which were crowded under the Christmas tree afterward.  
> Alison was disappointed that we hadn't heard from Christa and was just 
> saying she was going to call her and wake her up when the phone rang 
> and it was Christa!
>
> I could hear she was walking and guessed she was wending her way home 
> from a Christmas celebration, and I could hear her saying she couldn't 
> find her keys and she was asking her companion to open the door.  I 
> asked her if she needed to have the door opened for her and she said 
> yes, please open it.  It was then that I caught on.  She was standing 
> on our front porch!!!
>
> Christa had come home for Christmas!!!  She had booked her seat all 
> the way back in August and not told anyone.  In the end she told 
> Alison and stayed with her and Nick, not game to contact any friends 
> in case they leaked the surprise to me.  She hadn't even told Pippa, 
> who was as thrilled as the rest of us.
>
> If I had been crying before, you should have seen me as I hugged my 
> beautiful daughter who I hadn't seen for over 18 months.  From me, she 
> moved on to her father who was also in tears.
> I have never had a happier Christmas.
>
> Everyone who loved Christa most was here.  Everyone was so happy the 
> house rang with laughter, and the look on her grandparents' faces was 
> a joy to see.
>
> I am so happy to have my baby home for two weeks.
>
> Sal
>
>
>
>