Christmas is Family and Christmas is Friends …
Every Christmas season has its story … let’s recap 2012, a Christmas most will remember for years to come … certainly our family.
The lead up was pretty familiar. There were the Christmas Lights and decorations which I always love and hate to see come down. There were the shopping sprees … sometimes fun and sometimes stressful and, then of course, the monumental task – for some – of wrapping all those many gifts. There was the rush to Christmas Mass, the delicious home cooked meals, the countless photos, gift exchanges and meaningful pauses to remember family members no longer physically present. Without a doubt, this first Christmas without Mom … Ellen Dailey … was different to say the least. The true power of family was ever present and the definition of “Family Unit or Unity” was never more manifest than this year.
Mom had always made each of us smile and feel special, mostly with her gracious loving warmth but also with the $100 dollar bill that seemed to consistently find its way into each gift. My sister, Kathy, continued the tradition this Christmas with cash surprises. The true meaning and loving memory of mom was not lost in the form of Ben Franklin.
Now for the really unusual and memorable event. Beginning around noon on Christmas Day at Kathy’s home … moisture in the form of rain, then freezing rain and then slush and finally between 10 and 12 inches of new snow falling Christmas Night making Little Rock look like a place in New England or Colorado rather than Arkansas. That was the beautiful part !!! In addition to the city wide snow, Little Rock suffered one of the largest power outages and with it some of the most devastating tree damage in our history.
If you’ve followed my adventures in the Ozarks decorating a Charlie Brown style live tree, you will appreciate the picture below. My good Friends, JC and Gwen Goodin presented me with My Very Own authentic Charlie Brown tree.
With all the blessings, with all the friends, with all the family … and … with my own Charlie Brown Tree, how could I ask for more?
Happy New Year and God Bless each of you in this new year.
Jim Dailey 
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