As I
hung my favorite ornament on our Christmas tree this year it held a different meaning. My parents’ home is now “for sale.” There is no home to go home to. The final chapter of the story of their lives
has come to an end. Even though I can’t
physically go home again, my heart is filled with happy memories of past
Christmases with my mother and father.
Those shared memories are enough to make me smile. My mother knew along . . . all hearts go home
for Christmas.
Below is
an excerpt from A Rose for Sergei. Sergei and I were not able to spend the
holidays together. I travelled from my
home in Arlington, Virginia to spend Christmas with my family in
Massachusetts. Sergei flew back to Los
Angeles, California, to enjoy a planned skiing vacation.
“Christmas in Massachusetts is quite
beautiful with all the snow covered pine trees.
Christmas with my family is even more beautiful. It was my mother’s favorite time of year, and
she always started playing Christmas music right after Thanksgiving. Mom and Dad loved having all six children
home at the same time. There was always
homemade bread and lots of Christmas cookies—tons of Christmas cookies. My favorite Christmas ornament was from my
mother. It had a saying on it that read,
“All Hearts go Home for Christmas.” I
loved that saying, but this year my heart was only partly there—the other part
was with Sergei.
. . . Their home was picture perfect at
Christmas time with a big fireplace at one end of the living room and a real
Christmas tree to the side of the picture window that overlooked beautiful
green pine trees right next to the patio.
It made for a cozy holiday, and I knew Sergei would have enjoyed being
with all of us. I loved being with all
my brothers and sisters, but I had to admit that all I really wanted was to
hurry back to Arlington to see Sergei.”
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