The holidays were always a big deal when you girls were little. We made gingerbread houses, cookies by the hundreds that were given to friends, teachers, and sent to family. The stories of Monkey Joe, and trips to look at lights and surpising Santa, and explaining it all will wait for another week. This week, I want to tell you about when you older girls were about the ages above.During this time, Dad's job was tenuous at best. Every other Friday, there were engineers laid off. Dad did his best to stay on projects that needed his particular skill set. He is and has always been an excellent engineer. Things were pretty somber at his job. So, we tried to lift his spirits when he came home. We baked, cooked, decorated and tried to be as happy as we could.
This one particular Friday, Dad came home without a smile. We made chicken soup, and biscuits for dinner and about 100 holiday cookies that afternoon. Annie, being the observant one, noticed that Dad was not smiling, so she grabbed a cookie and followed him to the closet where he was hanging up his coat. She offered him the cookie and he smiled and took it. They sat down on the couch and shared it, while talking about what we had done all day.
The pall around work did not go away that day. We worried many, many weeks that he would lose his job. But Annie showed him that she felt his sadness and wanted him to feel better. Nina and Lauren joined in as they could - they were still pretty little. But they followed Annie's example and let Dad know that they loved him.
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2 comments:
I don't remember much of Dad in that house.... Well, I do remember him taking me to preschool a few times. I also remember the day that he told me that I'd be going to Florida with him for our trip. And the day that the waterbed got taken down and ... given? away? or sold?
that looks like a pretty warm day to be around the holidays.
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