Remembering

Christmas was always a bittersweet time for my grandmother. As a child, I always knew something was not quite right for her around this time of year...even though the presents were piled around the tree and our family was gathered together. It wasn't until I was much older and had children of my own that I could really grasp the reason why. And now, since she is gone, I can only imagine the suffering she experienced. She didn't talk about him often...but around the holidays his name usually came up...because her second born child, David, wasn't there with us. Because he never came home from Vietnam. And although I am grateful for his service and his sacrifice...I still wish it had been different...for her. By the way, his birthday was the day after Christmas.