I have always felt very blessed to be Collin’s mom and I continue to be so thankful to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with such a beautiful little boy. Collin managed to singlehandedly make my Christmas this year in the car on the way to Allan and Janice’s (Brandon’s dad and angel step-mother) to open presents.

I was talking to Collin about what we were going to do that day - open presents, eat breakfast, blah blah blah - and told him we were going to see Papa when we got back to Houston later that day. For those of you who don’t know, Papa is my grandfather. He has Alzheimer’s and I have taken Collin to visit him since he was four weeks old. The three of us have had some very special times together. Collin shows Papa his cars, jumps and dances for him, and loves to hide so Papa can find him. Papa always seemed to remember him and frequently called him ‘a dandy boy.’ Papa fell and broke his arm around Collin’s second birthday and had some other complications and is now in a nursing home. The first time I took Collin to visit him in the nursing home, I was sad to find that Papa’s health had really deteriorated and basically, he didn’t seem to be himself anymore. This brings us back to the car on Christmas morning. Here is the conversation that followed:

me: We’re going to see Papa later today.

Collin: He not sick anymore?

me: No, he’s still sick. We want to make him feel better.

Collin: He not in hospital anymore?

me: He’s still in the hospital.

<pause>

Collin: I love him.

And there you have the moment that made my Christmas. In fact, I think that memory will make my Christmases for the rest of my life.

When we visited Papa that night, he contributed to the best Christmas ever, when he had a moment of clarity and called Collin ‘a dandy boy’ - just like he always had before his health declined.

I am so blessed. I’m so thankful to my Heavenly Father for giving us that special moment in the car where we could feel Collin’s love for Papa and Heavenly Father’s love for all of us. I’m so thankful that Collin has been able to get to know his great-grandfather and develop a loving relationship with him. He’s always so excited to see him and that has blessed his life, Papa’s and mine. I’m so grateful that my favorite Christmas memory had to do with the love that a little boy has for his great-grandpa and not excitement over a present. And I am eternally grateful to know that even though Papa is not the same as he used to be, he will one day be made whole again and not know the pain and suffering of a mortal body.

Best day ever.