The month of December nears the middle as the cold snap has, well snapped in the great city of Denver. The latest reading is nearly 8 degrees below zero with a wonderful wind chill dipping nearly thirty degrees below the big fat zero on the Fahrenheit scale.
Translated, it is unspeakably cold here in the Mile High City. Since Winter came in late this year (halfway through November? Really? Old Man Winter get stuck on the toilet?) it’s been very nice and warm on most days. Sunshine, never really below 20 degrees at night.
I figure we’re bearing the brunt of said cranky Old Man this time around. This is not to say Denver is the coldest or even close. 40 degrees below zero with a unthinkable windchill in Montana is cold. Been there, got the t shirt and chattered my teeth down to the nubs. It’ll bounce back up within the week or Denver being what it is, it’ll be 70 on Tuesday.
I’m quietly simmering politically speaking. I’m waiting for the inauguration hoopla so I can start discussing the newly minted president. I met the Mayor of Thornton, Colorado this weekend at a holiday party of sorts and I have to say it was a great experience. I was afraid to talk politics but then found out he was more than happy to discuss it.
There are times when the hunger of politics nearly turns into activism for me and I’ve consciously been percolating on the idea of getting involved starting at the local level. After all, being related to The Hammer (aka Tom DeLay) means that I’ve got a heavy interest in the systems and the players. I also blame my grandmother Jenimae Dahl. My parents tell me she was heavily active in the Democratic Party when she was younger and was very much a force to be reckoned with in any situation.
She mellowed out when the grandkids came along and transformed into the image that I retain in my heart and mind to this day. She passed away in December of 2001, just months after September 11th struck us all sideways and mere days before the Christmas hullabaloo was to begin.
It was hard for my own Mother to deal with losing her parent. Jenimae Dahl was loved deeply by all that knew her. Even today when I think of all the times we drove up to the house ten miles from the Canadian border I still have to pause and bring the rock precariously balanced at the top of my throat.
Later in life she suffered from the monster known as Alzheimer’s disease. My mom, dad and various members of the family did what they could for her and my grandfather. She was very different in those last days, of which I did not witness.
This Christmas my grandfather will turn 95 years old. He is still driving around his small town where he lives in a quiet nursing home. Smoking his pipe his entire life has not stopped him from living each day. His memory is still sharp and the stories can still flow.
I’ll be spending the Christmas Holiday at home, working through Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as a trade off for the Thanksgiving Vacation I enjoyed. I’ll be quietly thanking God for my amazing family. My Mother (she thinks she’s a terrible mother…but the truth is she’s been nothing short of amazing in the last few years) My Father, the ultimate and tantamount Man of God and Hero that I look up to each day and My Brother who recently will be flying back from across the pond in Ireland. I’ll be thankful they’re enjoying Christmas together up in Montana and looking forward to taking vacations up to the lake and the new boat we’ve acquired.
My Christmas will be quiet and uneventful but it’ll be in the forefront of my mind and heart. I’ve got a lot to remember and smile about over the years.
As you countdown the days to Christmas, think about Christmas Past. Remember those warm moments with those no longer with us…and get ready to laugh with those that still are around. This Christmas hold your friends and family close. Smile, laugh and celebrate God’s gift in the midst of it all. Start saying “Merry Christmas!” to everyone.
It’s merely days away now, on the tip of the proverbial tongue.
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Below is the Obituary printed for my grandmother when she passed.
Jenimae (Johnson) Dahl, 80, died of natural causes on Wednesday, December 19, 2001, at Valley View Home in Glasgow, MT.
She was born January 28, 1921, in Opheim to Joseph and Elvina (Benson) Johnson. She always lived in Opheim and graduated from Ophiem High School. She married Otto Dahl at Opheim on December 10, 1939.
She was a very outgoing person. She loved to make buns and give them to friends and she enjoyed traveling. Her grandchildren were very important to her. To have known Jenimae was a true blessing. She had a positive input on all of our lives with a cheerful attitude. She always remained thankful in spite of her failing health. She loved to visit and never met a stranger. She welcomed all people to her home, making them feel comfortable with her sincere hospitality. Family gatherings will always hold special memories and be dear to her loved one’s hearts. For Jenimae, the more people the happier the occasion.
She was preceded in death by a daughter, Donalda Jean Dahl, of Lubbock, TX.
She is survived by her husband, Otto, two sons, three daughters, one sister, 12 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held Sunday, December 23, at 2 p.m. at the Opheim Methodist Church in Opheim with Rev. Tim Henz officiating. Burial was in the Lawndale Cemetery in Opheim. Bell Mortuary of Glasgow was in charge of arrangements.
Pallbearers were Christopher Dahl, Zachary Dahl, Toby Dahl, Seth Dahl, Aaron DeLay and Nathan DeLay.
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