Down But Not Out

‘So I guess what I am feeling is that from this too shall come a story of triumph and perhaps even a new tradition’

I lost my job at the end of November.  I had only thought about being jobless in terms of paying bills, and not really related it to Christmas coming up.  Not only does it mean that there will be less money for presents, but traditional holiday meals are going to have to be tweaked.  We will also not be able to afford traveling to visit our family as we would have in the past.
 
It takes me back to our (my husband and my) first Christmas together.  We were getting ready for candle light service when it struck me that I didn’t have any food in the house for our meal.  So I went about digging through the freezer and pantry to see what I would be able to throw together.  As it was, I found a frozen chicken neck and back that I had saved to make soup.  In the pantry there was little.  I found a can of tomatoes, and a bag of wagon wheel pasta.  I figured this would just have to do. 
 
So the next morning I prepared a soup, adding carrots and green pepper I found in the refrigerator. I sprinkled in some basil, oregano, garlic, salt, and pepper from the cabinet and called my family to the table for our Christmas Feast.
 
The next year, my youngest son asked if we were going to have “Christmas Soup” again this year. My oldest son echoed his enthusiasm for the soup, (both sons from a previous marriage) so soup is what we had.  It is now our Family tradition and is served on Christmas Eve after services.  My sister and her husband and five children eagerly look forward to Christmas soup, as does our cousins who share Christmas with us.
 
So I guess what I am feeling is that from this too shall come a story of triumph and perhaps even a new tradition.

Darla Hicks