"New Traditions"

[Kayla]

Last year my 90 year old mother-in-law spent Christmas with us, but she sadly died in June. We have not felt much in a Christmas mood, as she really loved Christmas time and always went "over the top" to make everybody's day special. My daughter and I have decided to make our own "New Traditions" and remember MIL by enjoying the preparation for the celebrations.
My Mum is in the NH, so we'll visit her in small groups as she easily gets confused. I've decorated her room to make it look more festive and she liked looking at all her cards. It will be different without MIL, but we can try to recapture her Christmas spirit and enthusiasm. She always looked on the bright side of life, no matter what happened to her, even though she was widowed three times.
Kayla

 

[Grannie G]

Good for you, Kayla. It so difficult to accept change but you`ve come up trumps. I hope your new traditions give you as much pleasure as the old ones did.

 

[Margarita]

but we can try to recapture her Christmas spirit and enthusiasm.

Sounds like a good to me xx

 

[Kayla]

I found Christmas shopping depressing this year because we didn't need to buy anything for my MIL, who died in June and it was hard knowing what to buy for my Mum in the Nursing Home. Everything I did for Christmas reminded me of MIL, even preparing the vegatables, as she always offered to do that chore when she stayed with us. Last year Mum had cried all through our Christmas Day visit and was uninterested in her presents, but today she seemed to enjoy herself and joined in the conversations, just coming out with a few confusing statements.
We've had some sad memories because of losing all our elderly family, with just Mum left in the NH, but we've also had fun doing things differently. I made and iced a Christmas cake myself for the first time, as Mum always used to do it and then we started buying them. My daughter has taken over decorating the table and thinking of all the little extras that can make Christmas Day special, which my MIL used to do.
My daughter's boyfriend spent the day with us, but didn't visit Mum as we thought she might get confused or overwhelmed. We shall introduce him on another day, but I think she'd have probably coped well today as she seemed to be in a good mood and alert. It is hard sometimes knowing what to do for the best and I'm pleased Christmas has been better for her this year.
Kayla

 

[Kayla]

Mum had a very good Christmas Day and she seemed to really enjoy her presents and visitors. Unfortunately, when we visited the day after Boxing Day, she'd been sick and is now very quiet and weak. We think that she may have just eaten too much rich food, which upset her, but the contrast in her condition is amazing and even today she is not much better. It seems that every "up" has to have at least twice as many "downs". Just when I thought that things were getting better too.
Kayla