Christmas memories

I have noticed as I have gotten older that Christmas is a mixture of happiness and sadness. Happiness of family getting together for Christmas and sadness at those who are no longer here to get together with. My Grandparents on my dads side died when I was in grade school, so memories of them are foggy at best. My moms parents died after I was older and married. Every year since I was born we spent Christmas eve at my Grandparents house. There were between 50 and 65 of us in that house every Christmas eve. We drew names and everyone got a gift and we all brought food.......it was just the Wood family Christmas. The church Christmas program ended every year as long as I can remember with my Grandpa in the dark singing "was he quiet or did he cry." My Grandpa has been gone since 1990 and someone in our family still sings that song at the end of the program every year and I still cry like a baby. My Grandma died the day of the Christmas program in 2002 and that was horrible. I took my kids to Sunday School so they could practice and went down to my Grandmothers to check on her because she wasn't doing very well and I could tell as soon as I walked in she was about gone. She died that afternoon (surrounded by her family) and I still had to go sit through the program at church where Grandma was my Sunday school teacher and listen to someone sing Grandpas song. My mother in law died in 1997 and my father in law in 2000 and then in 2005 my cousin died in his twenties... riding in a car with a drunk driver. My other cousin died in 97 or 98 from breast cancer at the age of 38....leaving 2 young children. Their presence is missed every single Christmas eve (and every day of the year.)
Now for a little smile..........