Holiday Surprise

We have just returned from two weeks in Atlanta for Christmas and New Years. We had planned to stay at home, and I debated whether or not I would even put a wreath on the door (I did). We were content to spend Christmas alone, after all, we had just seen our children and their families on our Thanksgiving cruise. I was not, however in the holiday spirt. Then, a face time call from our children telling us to read our email. Once I did that, I saw that they had purchased tickets for both of us to come to Atlanta to spend Christmas with them. How lovely--we were both completely surprised, and ecstatic. I spent a couple of days, finishing the things I would have done during those two weeks, fortunately, I had no classes to attend, no tutoring, and had already had my Christmas cards sent by a friend after Thanksgiving.

We arrived at l2:18 the day before New Years Eve. Interestingly enough, the person sitting next to me was a Morse graduate. Since I never talk on planes, I didn't know that until we were one hour out of Atlanta. She had not been my student, but her siblings and relatives were. Even more interesting, the person sitting next to me on the flight back to San Diego, was a former student who recognized me in the Atlanta airport as we were going to the gate.

It was probably one of the best holidays we have ever had--perhaps because it was a total surprise. We loved being with our children, their husbands, and our gorgeous grands. I was able to see our grandson pass his learner's permit test, and I was able to help him organize for his Eagle Scout project. We were able to attend our granddaughter's gymnastics class, and were also able to watch the funny antics of our youngest grandchild. Our youngest grandson was very helpful, both to us, and to his young cousins. We loved seeing the cousins show so much love toward each other. It was as if we were seeing our legacy of love continuing in their lives.

I had lunch at a fancy restaurant with two former students, another with a Peace Corps friend (native of Atlanta) I have known for fifty years, and was also able to spend time with our friend whose mother and grandmother had us for dinner in Havana. We had pizza nights at Maddios, their new favorite place, and even though I don't normally like pizza, the hand made pizzas there reminded me of those we had in Naples.

We thank our children for thinking of us, and honoring us with the tickets (well, that is what I call it). Next year, Christmas will be in California again. We will forego our Thanksgiving cruise next year (Ben will be going to Africa or Europe--so pennies must be saved, but perhaps we can think of something exciting for them when they are here.

Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude is what we both feel. It was cold in Atlanta, but our hearts were warmed with the love of family.

Now we wait for our next adventure in March!!!