Heartbreak in the midst of joy

Celebrations this time of year pile up on the calendar.  Every weekend is booked with an event.  Buying and wrapping presents take center stage along with holiday cards and decorating.  Sadly, this year in the midst of all of this, our family was hit with heartbreak.  My husband’s mother passed away on Sunday.  You can never prepare yourself for the 4:30 am phone call.  Time stands still…

My mother-in-law was an amazing woman.  She sang with the Sweet Adaline’s in her youth.  She traveled to Cuba in her 20’s.  She moved to San Francisco from Chicago where she met her husband.  On her 80^th birthday she floated the Icicle River with a bunch of us in an inflatable canoe…she loved an adventure and had lots of stories to tell.  She had a very kind heart and strong determination. Last summer the whole family was able to be together to celebrate her last birthday.  It was quite a blessing.

I was welcomed into this Irish/Scottish Catholic family nearly 30 years ago.  The extended family stretching across the country to Washington DC, to Chicago, to San Francisco, to Santa Barbara, to Cannon Beach to Seattle and many other places has always been as solid as they come.  We will see many of them as we celebrate her life in the coming weeks.

My favorite Christmas cookie recipes come from my mother-in-law.  She shared them with me wholeheartedly years ago.  In fact, I’m making my 5^th batch of Pecan Tarts today as they seem to keep disappearing!  I even freeze them, so we won’t eat them but amazingly enough they are delicious frozen too!  The second batch of Hello Dolly’s was baked yesterday with my daughter.  Traditions and family recipes are meant to be shared and handed down to the next generation.  That’s how our loved ones continue to live through us forever…

Peace