Christmas tree, O Christmas tree

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree!
Thy leaves are so unchanging
Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree,
Thy leaves are so unchanging

Not only green when summer's here,
But also when it's cold and drear.
Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree,
Thy leaves are so unchanging!

Christmas Eve Day dawns being heralded by lightning and tornado warnings this morning. Here in Dallas, Georgia and seated at the dinning table I ate upon since the tender age of seven, I can see my Momma's Christmas tree in the reflection of the sliding glass doors that leads to the sun room. Momma is at work in the kitchen, whipping up pancakes and bacon as we listen to George Straight's "Christmas Cookies'. 

This is the first time in four years I have been able to come home for Christmas, though this is the third house my parent's have come to call home in Georgia. Situations arose that caused my childhood home to be sold as my father took a job in Tucker. The split level colonial at 3450 Aaron Trail was sold. They moved to Winder, were we were all just starting to fall in love with the house on Berkshire Lane when my father got a job offer back in Powder Springs. Again, my parents were forced to pack up and move. Now my parents live in Dallas, Georgia but as I sit here I feel a familiar warmth start to gather and coalesce in the far corners. It is the love of a family that make a house a home; this place is already brimming with it. Soon enough, it will be just like the old colonial on Aaron Trail but better, being bedecked in the coloring of my parent's five grandchildren and ringing with the peels of their laughter. 

As you gather with your families to share the light of Christmas Eve, remember in your thoughts and prayers those who have no one to be with this holiday season. Spare a smile, share a laugh and spread the warmth of joy to others.

"For to love another person is to touch the face of God." Les Mis