Often times I’ve heard people say holidays are when they miss their loved ones in Heaven the most.
Everyone reacts a bit differently to everything life brings and as the years come and go I find that I am never really sure when those “missing you” moments will hit.
For several years after dad passed away I dreaded Thanksgiving. Dad wasn’t at the head of the table anymore and things just weren’t the same. Now that mom is gone too I would have thought last year’s Thanksgiving would be really difficult but that really difficult Thanksgiving didn’t hit until this year.
I’m not sure why, but when I woke up, I asked mom and dad for a sign hoping something might help me to know they were here. I know this probably sounds silly but I’d be willing to bet I’m not the first person to give it a try.
Because mom was the one and only person in my entire life to offer me the truest and most precious form of unconditional love it didn’t surprise me that she arrived first with her sign. Don was preparing to slice the turkey and asked me to retrieve the electric knife. I don’t ever remember seeing one here but he said, “Well, it was always in that last buffet drawer.” Ever since I moved in I’ve annoyed him with my relocation skills but that knife, I don’t remember relocating. I don’t remember ever seeing it but in an effort to humor him I walked over to the buffet and pulled open the last drawer. No knife. I moved down one drawer and as I pulled it open the first thing I saw was a spool of red curling ribbon. Mom was here! She used curling ribbon for everything! Every one of her kids and grand kids know where there is curling ribbon, there is that amazing lady that touched each and every one of our hearts in a way only she could.
I never did find the electric knife….I found something much better.
Dad took his time making his appearance so Don and I ate a nice Thanksgiving meal together. It was nothing fancy but it sure was tasty. It made me really wonder why we make all those salads and extras we don’t have room for on our plates. Our meal consisted of roasted turkey, Don’s homemade dressing, mashed potatoes, my homemade gravy and baked squash. We washed the dishes and relaxed a bit and then we worked on dolls. Don prepared the weight packets while I installed eyelashes. I don’t know if people realize just how much time it takes to create my baby dolls but let me tell you, it’s a lot of work. Once the babies fingernails and toenails were varnished and dry, the eyelashes were installed, the weight packets in the bodies and heads were in place, the bodies were re-stuffed and the heads were reattached, I dressed them all. After that I created headbands for the girl babies. Once they were complete and in place it was time for the photo shoot. I pulled the large piece of satin I use for a background off the shelf. I pinned it to the curtain like I always do and created a spot for each baby to sit while I snapped some pictures. Once I had captured several images of each baby I removed the pin from the fabric, releasing it from the curtain and as I began to fold it dad arrived!
For years dad dreamed of owning the property that had long needle pine trees on the south side of the lilac bushes in the yard near the clothesline. Eventually that dream became a reality and I remember helping him rake all the those needles up in the fall and I was amazed by how fast they would sizzle and burn when we tossed them into the pile of burning leaves. You have to wonder why a person remembers things like that until you find a long needle from a pine tree wound around the loose threads at the end of a piece of satin nine Thanksgivings after someone you dearly loved passed away. God knew I’d need that memory down the road because He knew I might find a Thanksgiving or two a bit tough to digest when that man that was always at the head of the table was no longer there.
Signs are signs. No matter how small or insignificant they may seem to others has no bearing on the power they have over the people they seek to find.