There is a gift under the tree from my grandma.

[Sean Reynolds]

She got it for me right before she died last month. I think it's gonna be very hard opening up a gift from someone that has passed on. Sigh, this feels like the worst Christmas ever.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Open it and remember the love it represents

I still have the last Christmas card my grandmother sent me in 1977.

[RebelOne]

2. Don't feel sad. Just remember that she was thinking of you

before she passed on.

[buddhamama]

3. cherish it,Sean

it probably will be hard for you to open that gift but, it came from your beloved Grandma. cherish it! It is gift from her, from her heart out of her love for you.

i'm sorry :hug:

[terrya]

4. Just remember the grandmother who gave you that gift.

It will be melancholy because of your grandmother passing on so recently, Sean. But keep her in mind and remember her. I'm so sorry about that news, guy. You have my condolences.

This will be the first Christmas without my Dad, who died 6 months ago. It's going to be hard not having him there.

[MuseRider]

5. The year my father died

my brothers and I found a gift from him under the tree. He died when I was 19 and he and my mother had decided that my brothers and I should each have our own small stereo set, we had only had a small mono player before that. It was not an expensive one but I still have it, 31 years later. Cherish the gift, she loved you and was thinking of you when she bought it. It will be hard but you will love it forever, I promise. Merry Christmas Sean, it may be much better than you think.

[madrchsod]

6. hang in there sean

this is my first christmas with my mom and dad . i`m 56 and i feel bad that my mom won`t be here..remember, she`ll be always there with you-no matter what.

[Skittles]

7. Sean, try to remember good memories of your beloved grandmother

she would not want you to be sad on Christmas. Feel lucky that you had someone like her in your life.

[Philostopher]

8. I can imagine.

Yesterday was the seventh anniversary of my father's death. I'd been going through a lot of personal junk myself, when he got sick -- was in the middle of a divorce, living on my own for the first time in my life at 30 -- and had gotten much closer to him than I had been the few previous years. That Christmas -- and every one since -- has sort of had that playing in the background, but it does get easier after a while.

My siblings and I had been too busy running back and forth to their house to get our last moments in with Dad, and my father had been too ill -- and my mother, who cared for him at home the last couple of months, too busy with caring for him -- for us to really have any kind of Christmas that year, but we got together on Christmas day anyway, and ate like crazy. Random application of carbohydrates is a family tradition, especially during family crises, and we did manage to laugh as well as cry. My dad wouldn't have been happy if we hadn't.

It was strange, but at the same time, reassuring -- Dad was gone, but we were still all able to get together. The world didn't come to an end. I'm glad we did, because if we hadn't, I might have stopped commemorating Christmas altogether. It's still a little difficult getting myself in gear for the holiday -- maybe it'll never be the same as it was before -- but it gets easier each year not to think about it more than I should.

Holidays -- especially the first after you've lost someone -- are always difficult in the context of the loss, especially if it occurs during the holiday season, or on a holiday. I know nothing anybody can say will make you feel any better about it, but I can say I think I have a pretty good idea how you feel, and why you feel that way. And I can tell you it's not unusual, and it's okay to feel that way -- it's a difficult thing to go through.

[lillib]

9. OMG

Sorry to here that is so sad.

[nini]

10. this brought tears to my eyes..

how wonderful though to have this from her after she is gone. While it will be difficult to open it will also be one of the most loving memories of your life. I hope it helps heal some of your pain.


:hug:

[Padraig18]

11. Your Grandma got that for you because she loved you, Sean.

She wouldn't want it to make you unhappy, because she bought it for you to make you happy, so open it, enjoy it and cherish it always. I still have the watch my Mam and Daddy bought me for Christmas, before they died, and I'll never part with it. :hug:

[JohnKleeb]

13. sorry about your parents paddy and your grandma sean

I remember losing my aunt in 2001, she was my godmother, and a great woman, I still have what she gave to me, a Gore-Lieberman sign she got in Oregon when she was getting treatment in Portland and a book, Flags of our Fathers, I am related to one of the flag raisers mentioned. Since then I have gotten political :) and proud of my Slovak heritage and connections to the city of cities, Johnstown, Pa and a respect for those who serve.

[Dookus]

12. aww... how bittersweet....

I went through the same thing when I was 8 or 9. My Great Aunt (called Nanny) who raised my dad, always spent christmas with us and died on December 23rd, the day she and my Great Uncle were supposed to arrive to spend the holiday with us. We spent that Christmas going back to Philadelphia for her funeral.

When we got home, there was a package waiting for me. It was a small camera Nanny had gotten me using bubblegum comics and a few dollars.

It was a very special gift. Good luck with the holidays, and try to remember how much she loved you.

[Karenina]

14. Hey Sean!

Don't you dare peek or rattle the package! I bet she got you something TOO COOL FOR WORDS!!! She's not "gone," she's just in the next room giggling at us all. This is for the greatest grandma ever! :toast:

MUCH LOVE to you babykins! :loveya:

[SheilaT]

15. My mom died

in 1999. I got a present from her last Christmas.

She'd bought a quilt top for me a year or two before she died, and gave it to my sister to quilt, but sis didn't get around to it until last year. I felt honored and thrilled to get a present from mom!

[Rhiannon12866]

16. Oh, Sean, I am so sorry

I lost my Nana five years ago and it is still very hard. The worst Christmas was when I lost my Dad. He couldn't talk well, so had me order gifts over the phone for my mother. He died before Christmas. My mother had a really hard time, getting gifts from my Dad. I had sent my Nana a plane ticket so she could be with my Dad at Christmas. She came, but he wasn't there. I don't mean to bring you down, but just wanted to let you know that I understand what you are going through. Holidays are tough without loved ones. Just remember how much your Grandma loved you that she thought ahead to get you a Christmas gift. She will be with you in spirit and will share your happiness in opening your last tangible gift from her. The other, less tangible, gifts that she gave you will always be with you. Have a lovely Christmas, Sean, and think of the many good times that you shared with your Grandma. She would like this, I am sure, and not wish to cause you pain.

Rhiannon