Merry Christmas to you all and thank you for the blessings of your comments and kindness this past year. I’d like to leave you with a little bit of  Christmas past in the form of a short article I wrote for Somerset Studio in 2010 and the artwork from that issues cover. May you all find comfort this Christmas Season.

Somerset Studio, The Last Page Nov/Dec 2010

By Pam Carriker

I’ll Be Home for Christmas

We often hear the phrase, ‘Home is Where the Heart Is’, but what if you heart is scattered in many different places? Christmas time for me has always been a time of magic and wonder. I love everything about it: from buying presents, to wrapping them, decorating the house and seeing dear friends and family. The preparations are as much fun as the actual day itself. It’s a time to reflect on the year past as you try to fit everything into the annual ‘Christmas Letter’ updating family and friends that you may only hear from at this special time of year.

The most wonderful gift of all is having your family near. This year will be different at our house. My oldest son is deployed overseas, his son (yes, I’m now a grandma!) won’t remember this Christmas but will be so much fun to buy presents for, my middle son is embarking on his new adventure of living on his own as he attends college, and my youngest will be waiting for Santa to fill his stocking. My extended family lives on the west coast, and we won’t be able to travel over the holidays this year. These things leave my heart feeling scattered to the four winds, when what I truly long for is all of my loved ones to be near during this special season.

Home

There is comfort in tradition, and as I pull out the ornaments my children have made over the years, they take me back to Christmases past. Favorite family recipes will still be prepared, traditions will still be observed to be passed on to new generations, and though I may wish for everyone to be home, I realize ‘Home’ is a state of the heart. No matter where I am, I remember Christmas past and build Christmas future on those memories. Christmas present may not see all of my children under my roof, but I know my far away son will be home in his heart and mine December 25^th.  We can all be ‘Home for Christmas’ in our hearts.