Did I tell you I have wonderful kids? Well, I do. The story I am about to relate is a prime example....
In January of last year we lost Dad. It was devastating. The rock, the anchor of our family. The voice of reason in an unreasonable world. The loving patriarch of the Bray clan and my dad whom I love very much. He was gone on to a better place and all we had left were the memories.
When the first wave of grief subsided Mother began to ask what everyone would like to remember Dad by and the cherished belongings began to go to first one and then another. I looked around to find something to help me not lose sight of Dad for a while longer and my eyes fell on the big blue chair he always sat in. The chair where he read his Bible, listened to the radio, held the little ones on his lap and preached to the young scholars the Word of God. The chair where he fell asleep only to wake up and tell us a joke as if he'd been listening the whole time. The chair where he spent most of the last year of his life. And I decided that I wanted Dad's chair. Mother was agreeable, but naturally not quite ready to part with such a reminder of Dad, so I was patient.
By Thanksgiving I began to think about not having Dad around for his most favorite time of the year and again I thought about the chair and how much it would mean to have it to look at and sit in every day. By now the chair could come home, but how to get it there? No one offered any help.
On Christmas Eve when I arrived at my son's house there was new furniture in the house. How nice! And a big chair was wrapped in Christmas paper for me. Oh my goodness, I thought, they bought me a chair because I can't get Dad's chair home. But when I began to unwrap the paper the blue fabric began to show and I was overwhelmed with the joy of beholding Dad's chair sitting right there in the living room. The tears began to flow and I couldn't speak except to say...Daddy's chair....My son hugged me and laughed and began to tell me how they sneaked off to Mother's and spent the day with her and the rest of the family to bring my chair home. How they had been gone most of the weekend and I didn't even know it. How they all had such a good time at Christmas Tree Lane and nobody breathed a word to me about it. I speak with my family in that area every day so that was really a feat! They borrowed a van and drove 5 hours to Madera and 5 hours home in two days, just to bring me Daddy's chair for Christmas. It was the best Christmas ever.
The blue chair now resides in a place of honor in my living room. I have a bright floor lamp next to the chair and a table to hold my books, radio, telephone, iced tea and whatever gadgets I decide to order from the catalog! It's almost like he's there when I sit in the chair and relax. I can hear his voice offering me advice or encouragement, and love...
So...do I have wonderful kids, or what?
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3 comments:
I will have to come have a sit sometime.
And yes, our Christmas Tree Lane stroll was lovely as was dinner afterward. It wasn't quite right without you, but then if you'd have come there would have been no Christmas Eve surprise!
I spent many, many hours sitting at the edge of that chair talking about hundreds of different subjects with Dad. His words of wisdom are priceless treasures that I will lean on forever.
It's nice to picture you sitting there, in his chair, I can't think of anyone better to do so. He would be glad.
Oh, and the walk down Christmas tree lane is a memory for the keeping. We had so much fun!
We were so happy to be a part of the great surprise!
You are welcome to come and sit anytime! Any or all of you...just not at once, even Dad's chair wouldn't stand up to that! LOL
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