As I watched a Charlie Brown Christmas (as I do every year), I started thinking about Christmas memories of days gone by. We lived in a small 3 bedroom house from the time I was born until I was aged 12. I don't remember much about the early Christmases but we do have a few pictures. I remember one particular Christmas I convinced my mother to buy my sister a Barbie doll as a gift from me. It didn't much matter to me that my sister didn't really care about Barbies, I was just hoping she would let me play with it. Yes, that sounds terrible now but at the time it seemed like a great idea.
I remember another Christmas when I asked for an Etch a Sketch. I was hoping I'd get one and I remember seeing some presents under the tree a few days before Christmas. I kept picking them up and shaking them, running my hands along the sides and poking them. I poked the box that I hoped was an Etch a Sketch and the paper tore! Lo and behold I felt the knob and I knew it was the treasured Etch a Sketch! I was so excited, well until my mom figured it out. My punishment for poking a hole in the paper was having the present put away for a certain period of time that felt like an eternity. But the lesson was learned and I never poked a present again.
Another Christmas Eve I remember going with my mom and dad to pick up my Aunt Mildred at the A&P grocery store where she worked. She was getting off at 6:00 p.m. because the store was closing for the holiday. On the way home, my dad had the radio to WSB AM and the man on the radio was telling us that they had spotted Santa on the radar. He said, "I hope you children have been good all year! Now you better get home and make sure you go to bed early!" I was so excited. We drove around and looked at Christmas lights. Given the fact that most everyone was Protestant, most houses were lit up bright!
My mom loved Christmas and we always decorated the tree Thanksgiving night or at least sometime a few days later. She always put on Christmas music as we got out all the decorations. My mom loved "The Christmas Song" by Nat King Cole and to this day when I hear that song, I think of her.
On Christmas Day we always got up and opened presents. Then we ate breakfast and my mom started cooking and getting things ready to take over to my aunt and uncle's house. Paul and Helen, my aunt and uncle hosted everyone and when all was said and done there were a lot of us. Of course I had to sit at the kid's table with my cousin Ken. But that was ok. Right after the blessing, my Uncle Ben whose birthday was on Christmas Day would always say, "I sure appreciate everyone coming to my party!" After dinner we would go outside and play if the weather was good and if not, we played in the basement. One year Ken got a mini bike for Christmas and we had a blast. Later on we would pack up to go home and many times Ken would come to our house. Sometimes we would have a treat and get to go to a movie. Other times we'd sit around and play games.
When my siblings and I all were married and we started having children, the dinner shifted to my mom and dad's house. We still ate at 1:00 p.m. because that was tradition. There was a lot of love and laughter all around and I cherish those memories. Now that my mom, my dad and all of my aunts and uncles except Aunt Helen are gone, things have changed a bit. I miss all of them so much but I am so thankful for all the wonderful Christmases we spent. I hope one day my own children will have wonderful memories too.
No comments:
Post a Comment