It is always fun to reflect on Christmas past. What are some most precious Christmas memories?
1. Sarah Rohlfing walking by the moving Coca Cola Santa and tapping him on the shoulder and saying, "Hi Ho Ho" when she was about two. The year Santa left some of Jared's presents at the store. Filling stockings and watching my niece and nephew open gifts, grow up, and seeing the joy in their eyes with love.
2. Waking up on Christmas morning as a kid to find presents, open them with family, and the spirit of Christmas. My Dad and his work putting things together, Aunt Rita and Uncle Marvin being there on Christmas Eve and me trying to go to sleep. Calling all of my friends as a tween and teen ager to tell them what I got for Christmas. Making sure my Mom had presents after my Dad died so she was not left out. The year Chris and I got microwaves and Sue at age ten or so looked with fear at the same size box thinking she had a microwave too. Grandma's house. All of the cousins. The food. The farm.
3. Christmas Eve at Holy Cross Lutheran Church. The year we could not go because of the snow. The year we went and were a half hour late because we got the time wrong. Singing Christmas songs. O Come All Ye Faithful. Years of Silent Night by candlelight with my friend Joni there with the family. Getting bags with peanuts, an orange, and some candy as a kid after the service. Having to go to practice every Saturday before to practice for the program. The year I directed the program myself.
4. Going to my Mom's house on Christmas Eve after church where she made all kinds of delightful food. Drinks, friends, and family. We never knew who may be there. Pat, Joni, Jerri. Donny. Joe. Grandma. Brandy slushes. Those little cheesecakes. Her fudge. Giving Jerri a packet with her fudge every year, even after she moved to CA. Pictures in front of the Christmas tree. Making sure Sue always had a good Christmas. The year Santa forgot to fill the stockings.
5. Christmas in California. Staying up until the wee hours on Christmas Eve to play Santa. Going outside at 7:00 to see Santa fly over Ventura. Lunch on Christmas Eve with the family and a fun Christmas Eve at Chris and Kim's.
6. Eating Chinese for Christmas dinner with Gail the year I did not fly to California. We drove all over St. Louis to find a restaurant open. She drove down to St. Louis so I would not be alone at Christmas. The night before Joni was married and I was in her wedding.
7. Sue, Chris, Mom, Dad, Grandma. So many Christmas Eves and Christmas mornings. The blend of the religious reason for the holiday with the joy of gifts and giving. The year we lost my Dad and how we had to keep going and make it happy. Years with Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Cecil and going to their house for dinner. Always driving up there Christmas night when I was in California and sitting with them.
8. Christmas movie and lunch on Christmas Day with my mom. Our time to celebrate. We have seen some good movies in our time, have had to look for restaurants open, and at times have settled for movies on TV and grilled cheese and tomato soup.
9. Christmas Eve in the bars in Vandalia. Cannot speak of Christmas without this. Bartending after church so people with kids could be home with their children. Jay's and bartending with Brad Tedrick when both of us knew nothing about how to bartend. The Full Moon so Fred could be with his family on Christmas Eve. Lots of joy and lots of tips. Years of waitressing on Christmas Eve day. Happy people and a chance to see people I normally did not see. One Christmas Eve where I chased Deb all over Vandalia and missed church cause I was at the Office with Josephine.
10. All of the years of baking cookies for students and making Christmas packets for them. Working with students to put together Christmas programs in our classroom and inviting all of the parents. Watching them create and grow and put together great ideas. Showing them the Christmas classics: White Christmas, It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, Christmas in Connecticut. Could not do that now as a teacher, but it was the tradition in my classroom. And we always wrote a movie review. Taking pictures of students in front of the classroom Christmas tree.
11. Being upstairs at Wayne's and watching the snow come down over the Statehouse lawn through the big windows. Watching the video jukebox and hearing for the first time from it Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer. Skinnies and Sillies. Rubin and Joni. Deb. Wayne. Taking off with Wayne on his birthday to Effingham and not coming back for hours cause we were hitting all of the highway bars. Bartending at Fred's over Christmas break and running our tales off because we were so busy.
12. Christmas parties. Vandalia Middle School. Jay's.. Wayne's. Christmas sweaters. Christmas gifts and cards. I always made it a special necessity to remember the reason for the season and though some might find it paradoxical, to make sure I combined the festivity with the birth of Jesus.
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Christmas comes and goes every year. A time to bring people together, bring out the best in us all, and to remember the Virgin Birth. Traditions change. People pass on and though their absence is evident, we persevere. We always make sure the kids have the best of days. Everyone has traditions. My heart fills when I think of the people, the traditions, and all of the fun we have had at Christmas with family and friends.
