When my marriage was winding down, my wife and I separated. And we eventually got divorced.
It’s only by the grace of God we remained friends. (And remain so to this day! 🙂 )
The separation was longer than most. Eight years. But, we lived apart, shared custody of Molly, equally (alternate weeks, with one alternate day in the middle.) And living a little more than a mile apart, it ‘worked’.
But, initially, when she told me she wanted to separate, pain aside, it occurred to me that I wanted to do something extra special at Christmas for our daughter.
Because.
And I found these art pieces of little girls interacting in their world, by Frances Hook.
And determined I could probably afford one each holiday season, as a special gift to Molly.
Sometimes, getting funds together for toys, clothes and such was difficult. And the statuettes were an additional hardship.
But, I managed.
And she seemed to appreciate them, even when the tradition began, when she was age 5.
The first one was entitled “Birdie”. I got it because I remembered her chasing sparrows in the park, trying to get one to light on her finger. Calling out “Birdie, birdie!”
And so it was to pass she received a different one each year for Christmas. It was nice as we all continued to share Christmases together.
But, Christmas 1994 found me having difficulty finding another Frances Hook porcelain statuette with a little girl in it that she didn’t already have. Eventually, I did find one, though.
And I found out the reason for the dearth of sculptures. It seemed, the artist had passed away the year Molly was born – 1983. And in 1994, the porcelain figurines stopped production.
We lost Molly the next March.
I wonder if somehow The Universe had made the connection.
Guffaw in AZ 
It’s nice to hear of parents actually being Parents, loving and raising their kids properly – even after they’ve divorced.
Have a Merry Christmas Guff and God Bless You!
Posted by KM | December 24, 2015, 10:03 amYou are very kind. Thank you. And a Merry Christmas to you!
Posted by guffaw1952 | December 24, 2015, 10:40 amWhat KM said. As a Christian, I’ve learned not to believe in coincidences. And I believe that everything happens for a reason, even if we can’t see it at the time. So you might be right about the timing of events.
May the season bring more joy than pain with the remembrance. And may the Lord bless & keep you, and cause His face to shine upon you. Merry Christmas, my friend.
Posted by Rev. Paul | December 24, 2015, 10:16 amThanks to you kind sir. And many blessings of the season to you and yours!
Posted by guffaw1952 | December 24, 2015, 10:41 amIt’s not often things work that well… Merry Christmas to you and yours! 🙂
Posted by Old NFO | December 24, 2015, 6:49 pmMerry Christmas to you and yours, Jim!
Posted by guffaw1952 | December 25, 2015, 8:31 amI got something in my eye, excuse me. My wife and I are living apart in separate houses, we don’t have any children. We’re going down to see my aging parents tomorrow and celebrate Christmas. Her parents are already gone. It’s a 150-mile drive and I hate it. Today there was a NWS extreme weather alert and a tornado had been sighted – which is *highly* unusual for this area. I watched on TV as it showed showed doppler radar, and the extreme cell passed right over my house. Right. Over. No tornado destruction was visited upon me. I think I can endure this. God Bless you and Merry Christmas.
Posted by NotClauswitz | December 24, 2015, 9:57 pmGod bless you and watch over you in your travels, NC. Thank you.
Merry Christmas!
Posted by guffaw1952 | December 25, 2015, 8:32 amDown and back safely! 300mile round-trip.
Posted by NotClauswitz | December 28, 2015, 2:59 pmGood to hear!
Posted by guffaw1952 | December 28, 2015, 10:38 pm