Christmas

Thank goodness for the Christmas season, with its hustle and bustle and messages of joy and hope. There are so many parties and so many things to get done that there isn’t time to be sad.  And all our stuff had to be done by the 18^th because we were spending Christmas in Utah this year. My parents and older brother moved to Utah a few years ago. Jay and I usually spend the holidays with the Douglas family because they are so close. It had been a few years since we had Christmas with my parents and even longer since we tried to get all the siblings together. I had asked the Hammond Family to do Christmas in Utah this year because I was afraid that it would be Madi’s last Christmas. Although Madi did not make it until Christmas, I was so happy to have my family together for the holidays.

We had such a good time. We went ice skating and played games. I was able to go through the temple with family members that I hadn’t been through with since my wedding. The Celestial Room at Mount Timpanogos Temple was filled with bright purple stained-glass squares on the windows and rainbows splashed all over the floor because of the crystal chandelier. It felt like Madi was saying a quick hello. We visited Temple Square to see the lights and had the fortune to run into Jay’s sister, Jolanta, who is serving her mission on Temple Square.

The highlight of the trip, however, had to be the impromptu Pajama Christmas Eve Talent Show. We had 30 minutes to prepare whatever we wanted. We ended up with a magic show, a juggling show, a hanky dance, a poetry reading, a line dance, a comedy routine, a hip hop dance, three songs sung, the guitar played, and a few piano pieces. I think we were all a little amazed at the amount of talent we summoned in 30 minutes. The night ended with a special tribute to Madi by Jessica who did an amazing piano piece written by her Uncle Rick.

Click here to see Jessica’s performance (starts at 1:48).

I found out later that my mom had written a poem for Madi. Not that reading her poem should have replaced her hanky dance, but should have been added to the talent night for sure.

I Thought I Would Go First

By

Toni Hammond

I thought I would go first

I didn’t want to say goodbye

Empty bed, empty chair,

Abandoned shoes, dresses and bows

Empty lap

I thought I would go first

I would greet her in white,

With open arms, showing the way

Now my little one will be in the light

That I will follow home.

I thought I would go first

These old creaking bones

This memory slow in coming

This body misshapen by this life -- used up

Hers is supple, beautiful, sweet, just three

Yes, she is stubborn, I’ll miss that most of all

Run by self determination

She would have it her way

This is not my way

I thought I would go first

I love my family and it was hard to leave them. We all made a pact that we would do our best to all end up in Atlanta.