Pre-Christmas Ponderings

Although winter doesn't officially begin for another 5-6 days, it has made its presence known here in Erie. After our first major lake effect snowstorm of the season last week, temperatures have remained below freezing save for yesterday, which started off in the mid 40s and then quickly dropped into the lower 30s in the mid afternoon. By this morning, the streets around town were covered with a snow-covered icy glaze.
With all of the snow that we've been getting over the past week, it set me to thinking about this time of year back in '95. It was to have been the first Christmas in almost 10 years that the whole family would be together. Everyone was excited at the prospect of gathering in my grandmother's small apartment (with various family members staying with others) and celebrating Christmas the way we used to. I had called grandma early on in the month to talk to her, and she was all excited and looking forward to going to Burger King and the mall with me, and launched into her own rendition of "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" (she loved the song)over the phone before we said our goodbyes. Little was I to know that it was the last time I would get to talk to her. Two days later, she suffered a massive heart attack and was rushed to the hospital. My mom and brother took the trip from Harrisburg to Erie to see her in the Hospital, where she had stabilized, and was told she'd be able to return home in a couple of days. Mom and my brother returned to Harrisburg the next day. Not a day after they had returned, I sat bolt upright in bed knowing something was wrong. (Call it premonition, but I could have sworn I had seen her as clear as day, as she said she loved me.) An hour later, I got the call that she had gone home to be with God. I don't think I had cried harder in my whole life. I took the next two weeks off of work, and made plans for the trip from York PA up to Erie (always a fun drive in the wintertime) for the funeral the following week. The first part of the trip was rather uneventful, no snow, and sunny skies. Kat and I had made a rest stop at a McDonalds close to the halfway point (they were giving away free parking in the rear to those who played their Monopoly game)and called to let my mom and aunt know where we were. Mom told us to be careful, because the Weather Service had just issued a lake effect snow warning, and that it was expected to get bad. I thanked her for the heads-up, and we proceeded on our way. Kat, who had never been to this area before, kept dismissing my concern for most of the rest of the trip as we got closer to our destination, and there was still no snow- until we hit Saegertown, when we hit the wall of snow dead-on. Giving her directions from that point was real fun since all the usual landmarks were obscured by the blinding snow. We made it in one piece, and went to the funeral the next day, despite blizzard conditions. Needless to say, Christmas hasn't been the same for me since then. Grandma Dailey was the matriarch of the family, and the one who seemed to hold the whole family together. She's the one who would bake all the goodies, and prepare the huge feasts for the family at Christmas, and generally make every Christmas memorable. Now, its just not the same, and I dread the coming of the new year because I know that I'll lose it when they start to play "Auld Lang Syne" and there's no grandma to sing along with it. Grandma, I know you're up there watching over me. I love you, and I miss you even after all these years.