Years ago my cousin Mary Ann made this tray and gave it to me for Christmas.  Most of the people in those pictures are no longer with us in body, but every person is with me in spirit.  They influenced and in the case of my immediate family, molded my life.  I miss my aunt and uncles and especially my parents so very much.  I look at these pictures of them in their own youthful vitality, optimism, innocence and remember them in their maturity–wise, loving, caring, noble in their own way.

I see myself as a baby, a little boy, a young man and review my life’s experiences and am filled with gratitude and humility for the numberless blessings that I have enjoyed.  Grandpa Johnson sometimes mused, “For every smile there are one hundred tears.”  I didn’t understand that when I was young.  Now I do.  But with the tears came wisdom, understanding, compassion and sometimes with resolutions to become somehow better.  Some tears were of joy — others, sorrow.  There have been many wasted tears of regret because regret only binds one to the past and the past cannot be changed.  It only teaches us how to better live in the present if we have the  wisdom to learn and the humility to change.  Blessings of a loving family, health, shelter, food, friends, safety, electricity, a means of transportation, music, books, the peace that comes from my faith in Jesus, education, a declining  but still functioning brain, a special person to share my life with and endless others.  I am thankful.

Now one of my children has passed the four decade mark and the other two are fast approaching as I see three score and ten just around the corner.  Their pictures remind me of how fleeting and unpredictable life is.  They have grown up to be amazing adults who fill me with joy and pride.  I am thankful to my wife and forever grateful for the years we spent together and for her time and devotion to our family.

Today, as I eat my breakfast on my tray of memories, I realize that it may be the best Christmas present ever.  I eat breakfast with my family, loved ones spread from here to eternity, but present in my heart, in my thoughts and in my soul.