Whenever I see an agent of decay, like fungus, I hear my daddy saying, jokingly, “There’s a fungus among us!” I can’t for the life of me recall what he would have possibly been referring to, because none of us had nail fungus or anything like that. But what some folks might consider just ugly…

Although missing our loved ones can make the holidays seem sad and lonely, we have to try to keep them with us through our memories. Maybe I will start a new family tradition of asking each of my older children to share one special Christmas memory from when my parents were alive, and the two younger ones a memory of Christmas with us. That way, I can cherish their memories, and help them keep their memories alive, passing them down to their own children one day.

Even as a child, I liked to wander unexplored territories, as much as that was possible growing up in a subdivision. It was nothing for me to jump the backyard fence, cross the concrete ditch, and shimmy under the barbed wire in order to explore the field behind the house. As I grew older and with a bicycle as my free ride, I went as far as my imagination and legs could take me, which was often to a pecan tree-filled lot beside the junior high school.

Once again, I was able to be part of this outstanding event where everyone’s mantra was “Save the ta-tas!”