My sister-in-law Darlene and her husband Mike Scafiddi got all of the cousins matching personalized Christmas jammies! The kids (okay, the oldest is now 30 and Chloe is the "baby" and a freshman in high school) had a fabulous time modeling them for pictures. These pictures were taken at the annual Christmas Eve Seafood Fest. My brother-in-law Jonathan and his wife Yolanda host it; there are usually about 50 people there: The Gomez Family (Yolie's family), The West Coast Daly Family and lots of others who are now family, including my and Greg's very special friend, Eric Reasons and his family. We missed his wife, Chantelle who was in Quebec with her family but we were blessed to have ER and Roni join us.
Christmas is always a difficult time for me. I wrote and deleted something that was too much of a downer. Just leave it at I very, very much miss the irreplaceable Rosie and Bill in the Fall and Winter. Our birthdays, Thanksgiving, and so, so many Christmas memories. Why God did you have to take them at this time?
Just to quickly share one of my Christmas memories. One of the things that my Dad and I used to do was to walk around downtown San Francisco on Sunday afternoons. The stores were closed; He had the most beautiful long fingers and I used to wrap my little girl fingers around his baby finger so he would know where I was. We would walk for blocks, looking at all of the window fronts. So beautiful. He not only taught me to dream but to strive for what I wanted.
My Mother loved Christmas. For her, it was all about the kids. Any gathering that we went to, every child was getting a gift. The gifts weren't anything major, just a little something to bring a smile to the child's face. I have tried to carry on this tradition. I drive Greg and Rory crazy because I always have several kids' gifts in my trunk during Christmas: just in case!
My tradition: I still buy my parents a Christmas gift. Every year, I find someone or some organization that needs. I give/buy what I would have given my parents. You would be amazed. It always reveals itself. This year it was Gift of Love: gifts for women and their children that are in domestic violence shelters.
One of the things that I have learned over the 19 years that I have been prosecuting domestic violence cases. It takes an amazing amount of courage to enter a domestic violence shelter. Kudos to my Women!
I don't go to Mass every Sunday but I am still Catholic. Jesus is still very much the reason for this season. I hope that all of you enjoy this very special time with your family, friends, and other loved ones. Life is like the flame on a candle; with no warning, it could be blown out. So, please enjoy life and those around you!
Michele
