Yeah, it's a shame that your Christmas will be "tainted" this year after all the family problems that you've had Bill, but I'm sure that your future Christmas' will be much happier.
Christmas this year was very special for me, it was the 30th anniversary of my first Christmas with my wife and her family. In the time that I've spent with them all, we've all become good friends, with no "I like her, but I don't like him" kind of problems most extended families have, so I feel very comfortable with them all when I see them all, one year older, and a few pounds lighter or heavier, with a few more grey hairs.
They've had more than their fair share of tragedy with 4 empty places at the table over the last 10 years, 3 of them taken well before their time, and as sad as that is, I still feel their presence in that old house on Christmas day, and in my mind at least, if I look real hard I can still see them there, laughing and enjoying their Christmas day with the rest of us.
My mother in law (great ol' gal) is 76 and getting a tad tired, so is making noises about "retiring" her duties as the organiser/provider of our annual Christmas festivities, so this might be the end of a 30 year tradition, but I can honestly say that this Christmas was as good as the other 29, and I can't remember a bad one! Merry Christmas! Cheers, Terry.
