Ordered the ham

With Dave's assistance, I ordered the ham for Christmas eve tonight.

I emailed my Aunt Judy, who lives up in Guthrie, to see if she'd like some. She is my late father's youngest sister.

It may have been many, many years since she's had Virginia Ham for Christmas eve. Who knows?

She may not even like the stuff...but, chances are, even if she doesn't actually LIKE it, she may be nostalgic for it, and so, she may like to have a slice or two.
It is, after all, what she had on Christmas eve every year of her growing up, too.

It is good to taste memories sometimes, even if you don't care for the flavor.

We can certainly take her a plate on Christmas day, if she's interested.

Anyone who knows my family knows the significance of the ham.

It is the ham, every year, that has drawn us together. That has brought us to that still point in which we remember who we are, and where we come from.

The aroma of a cooking Virginia Ham IS Christmas eve for us, and always has been.
For generations.
Literally, for 200 years.

My next project is to go out and find a big pot, and a platter....now that I am 900 miles away from my "ancestral" pot and platter.

But, the point is, there will be ham cooked in my new home this year, on Christmas eve.

I will desperately miss being with my family, for the first time in my life, but if we all can smell a cooking ham, wherever we are, then we can waft through time and space on the steam, and be together in spirit.