Sparkles!!

If you've been following my blog for awhile you know the history of my Christmas Eve sparkles and how very special they are to me. This is my 8th Christmas without Vern and I did not expect to find sparkles this year. The reason?  I thought I had discovered who my Christmas Eve Angel was ... at her funeral.

Vern & I have lived in this house since 1983 and our neighbors across the street were here when we moved in.  Nancy watched Jeremy after school until I got home from work; our kids grew up together; we shared the good times and the not so good over the years. Nancy lost her husband David in 2004 and her 42 year old daughter Bridget died suddenly this summer. Bridget's service was beautiful, with so many stories shared of the kindnesses she was always doing for others. And then they read the poem, "We Remember Them" - the poem that was left with my first sparkles - and I knew. She had been my Christmas Eve Angel.

But those sparkles did arrive this evening. Beautiful golden sparkles that once again made me think of my Vern.  And I am grateful, so very grateful. 

So was I wrong to think Bridget had been my angel?  I don't think so, but I actually don't need to know who did this tonight.  This gift is such a beautiful blessing to me and I suspect it's a blessing to whoever it is that does this each year. That is enough.  It has helped me to appreciate the beauty of anonymous gifts of kindness. I do a lot of those throughout the year and will continue to do them. To honor my Vern. And in memory of Bridget, my Christmas Eve Angel.

Here's the back story for those who don't know it:
Three days after Vern died, I arrived home to find our street sparkling, right in front of our house. It was like little pieces of gold were imbedded in the pavement, and with the sun shining brightly it made them sparkle so beautifully. I felt it was a message from my Vern ... that he was up there walking the "streets of gold" and just wanted to share a tiny bit of that with me down here.

Three months later, it was Christmas - my first without Vern and my first gift of Christmas Eve sparkles.   http://amyelomawidowsjourney.blogspot.com/2010/12/sparkles-are-back.html

Those sparkles kept arriving, each Christmas Eve. Here's a couple of blog posts about them:
http://amyelomawidowsjourney.blogspot.com/2012/01/kindness-makes-all-difference.html
http://amyelomawidowsjourney.blogspot.com/2012/12/sparkles.html