Christmas: What Matters Is We're Together

1967. Christmas. It was going to be a great Christmas because my brother had returned safe and sound from a year's tour of duty in Vietnam and had reached the end of his two years of service in the U.S. Army. He'd been discharged early in November.

On his leave of absence before being sent to Vietnam, he made a comment that the Army issued T-shirts could be a little longer. It was a remark that was to result in a practical joke.

The day I started shopping for Christmas gifts, a catalog filled with novelty items arrived in the mail. Browsing through it after supper, I spied a white T-shirt that was 5 feet long. Ahhhhhh! The perfect gift for my brother.

I ordered the T-shirt, then went to the flower shop and purchased a box that was used for long-stemmed roses. When the shirt arrived, I put it in the box, wrapped it up, and placed it under the Christmas tree.

Christmas morning we began opening gifts. Soon there was only one left – a long box with my brother's name on it. Dad asked my brother to bring out the last gift. When he did, he saw it was a gift for him from me. Noticing my brother was very quiet, Dad asked him who the gift was for. My brother told him, then said he didn't think he would open it.

Questioned about his reluctance to do so, my brother replied he knew it was a trick present. But, eventually, under prodding from Dad, he opened it. As he kept pulling out the shirt, I told him I remembered how he didn't like the Army T-shirts, so I wanted him to have one that was long enough to suit him.

Little did I know that would be the last Christmas I would spend with my parents and brother.

1977. We made the decision to go to Iowa to spend Christmas with my Dad, my brother and his family. Mom had died eight years earlier.

What a great Christmas it was! We all had so much fun watching the children open their gifts and remembering Christmases when we were growing up.

1998. By now Dad had made his final journey. Twenty-one years had passed since my brother and I had celebrated Christmas together. So suitcases were packed and my husband and I headed to Iowa.

Over the years, celebrating Christmas first with my family, then my husband and children and his parents, have given me many precious memories.

The decorations, goodies, shopping for and exchanging gifts, all combine to make Christmas an exciting time.

But, for me, the most excitement is when we, as a family, are all together. Of course, it's not been possible for a lot of years for every one of us to be present, but those who are not able to gather with the family, are very much in our thoughts and hearts.

As much as it means to be together on a holiday or celebrating birthdays, it's even more important to me to spend as much time as possible with family. It doesn't matter about the amount of time spent – a few minutes or an hour. And it doesn't matter if it's that we're together physically or talking together on the phone. What matters is that we are together.