Let’s see now … what is Christmas going to be like around here after the year of heartache we’ve endured?

I believe it’s going to be OK. Not great in the way we used to celebrate the holiday season. But OK enough for us to set aside our sadness that an important person in our lives won’t be around to cheer the season with us.

My dear bride Kathy Anne was so wired for the holiday season. She embodied the Christmas version of the Looney Tunes’ character the Tasmanian Devil. She would seemingly whirl through the house decorating practically every blank counter-top, table top, window sill, and door jamb with religious and secular symbols of Christmas. It didn’t matter to Kathy Anne; if it symbolized any version of Christmas, it came out and was put on full display.

My bride invariably would apologize for “not being very creative.” I would snap, “nonsense!” She turned our home into a showcase.

I did not acquire that passion for Christmas when I married Kathy Anne in September 1971. I just went with the flow. Or, in this case, held on with both hands as she tore through her paces.

In her honor, though, I do intend to decorate my modest Princeton, Texas, home with at least part of the style to which we all became accustomed. I have decorated some outdoor shrubbery with lights. The tree is up, it is lit and it has a portion of the decorations we used to hang on it in previous years.

I believe Kathy Anne would be proud of the effort I have put into it so far. It won’t look quite the same as it did when she did the decorating. We’ll just have to settle for what I am able to do to welcome the holiday season.

I’ll be smiling all season long.