"Always Loved"

jackie1955

Hi all,
Christmas for me has never been the same since losing my beloved Dad, then a few years later, Mum. I miss them every single day, and I have a little ritual I do every year at Christmastime.

I take a Christmas Wreath or Holly Cross to their grave; then at home, I have a lovely photo of them when celebrating their Golden Wedding. I attach a christmassy bow to it, and then display alongside it an xmas card picturing a robin on a bed of holly, I purchased it several years ago - the sentiment of which sums up perfectly how I feel. I'd like to share it with you all......

"Always Loved, Never Forgotten"

Smiles can hide the sadness,
tears can be wiped away,
but the grief of losing you, will never go away.

Memories are beautiful things,
they last from day to day,
They can't get lost, they can't wear out,
they can't be taken away.

I think about you often,
I talk about you still,
you haven't been forgotten,
and you know you never will.

You are in my heart, now and forever.

And on Christmas day, a toast is always made to them and all other loved ones and absent friends no longer with us.

Gone, yes, but definitely NOT forgotten.

Jackie x

jordan7j

Hi Jackie, how lovely!!! I have lost both my parents too, and its very hard at this time of year. What a lovely poem, brought tears to my eyes, enjoy your Christmastime love Jay x

annie_mial

Oh, Jackie, what a beautiful poem. I agree that as long as someone remains in your memory, they are not lost. I'm now the only one who remembers my mother's parents and I'm quite sad about that on occasion.

Annie

trisher

Jackie

What a beautiful poem Jackie, did you write it?

If you did, could I copy it and put on my Christmas wreaths for the graves that I will be going to Christmas Eve?

That has bought a tear in my eye.

Love Trisher xx

carol101

How lovely!

I am lucky enough to still have all my close family around me. My husband had lost both his parents before i met him though and we always visit them on Christmas morning.

We spend Christmas with my parents and 2 brothers who still live 'at home'. We go to them early morning, have a cup of tea and open the presents, then me and Tony go to the grave yard and put a holly wreath on his Mum's grave (his Dad was cremated but has his name on his mum's headstone so feel like we're visiting both) then we do the same to my nan who, uncannily, is only one grave away but both were lost before Tony and i met. We spend an hour or so there talking to them both, remembering Christmases when they were around and telling them what has happened in our year (although we do visit throughout the year too).

Christmas always seems a time for reflection and sometimes it makes me a little sad. I'm very happy with my life now but when you look back at things that have happened and people you have lost touch with or who have sadly passed on.

Carol X

skezier

Hi Jackie,

That's a lovely poem you have put there. Apart from the reefs I always light my partner who died and my Nan a candle Christmas eve, they are big and burn for hours.

Hope you are both ok there? Cris x

tkachev

I always think about past Christmas with my parents still alive.There so many memories.my dad always joked ....the Russians would invade on Christmas day when we would be incapable of fighting back but one year he turned on the tv and Russian tanks were showing, invading Afghanistan!!!I dont think he ever got over the shock.
On the coming New Years Eve it would have been their 60th wedding anniversary so I will be thinking of them.
Elizabeth

jackie1955

Hi all,

No, I can't take credit for this poem, it was on an xmas card I bought, and I did try to get hold of some more copies over the years but apparently it is no longer produced.
The words were by a lady called Maria Costello, but could have come straight from my own heart. This card is kept safely stored after Twelfth Night until the next Christmas!

Hi Chris, have pm'd you.

Jackie x

debatat

Jackie, that is such a beautiful poem. It brought tears to my eyes.

I hope you are well and winning arthur!!!

Take care

Deb x

joanlawson

Hi Jackie

Thank you so much for the lovely poem. I lost my Dad on Christmas Eve one year, and my mother on 18th December the following year, so Christmas is always a rather sad time for me, as well as a happy time with my family.

Joan

suncatcher

I really love the poem jackie It is wonderful how you remember your loved ones like this. This time of year does bring sadness as well as happy thoughts. I hate looking in my address book which i go though to write cards and the names of those who are not alive are crossed out and writing to one person when there was two is so sad. I remember christmas gone by and the happy times we had but it is not the same.