Truman Capote was a superb author of a number of short stories, two of my favorites would be "A Christmas Memory" and the other, a sequel to this one, would have to be "The Thanksgiving Visitor." Both are
wonderfully written, totally engaging and provide you with one of the best visuals in short story writing. Capote knew how to do it and, if you haven't read his stories, give them a try or give one as a gift; they will love you for it.
The time of the year when we celebrate so many holidays, including Christmas, brings memories of those who are no longer with us to celebrate this year. We miss all of them, but I found something today that was truly helpful for me, personally.
Thinking about a short conversation with a loved one, just before her death, I could hear her saying, "I like to give them something special for Christmas." It struck a responsive chord. She always managed to get everyone something special. All year long, she'd scrimp and save so she could buy that "something special" for me and many others in our family. It wasn't an easy task given how little she made at her job.
Just being her was special to all of us. Now she's gone and the anniversary of her going comes just after Christmas.
Perusing my Twitter account today, I came across an article that was interesting, but I didn't know how it would affect me, personally.
The article dealt with a holiday gift from a woman's husband. It arrived after he had died suddenly. The gift, a sweatshirt from one of her favorite TV shows, had one-word embroidered on it, MAZEL.
She knew what it usually meant, but she researched further and found that, in addition to being a wish for luck, it also meant "hope." That's what he wished for her.
Researching the word further, she found that the belief is that only a portion of the soul resides in the body, the remainder is in the ether where the soul watches over us. A wonderful thought, indeed.
The article provided me with a special appreciation for this particular soul who watches over us. In life, she watched over ALL of us and now I can believe that she is doing the same from afar but no less watchful.