Dec 19 2008
Christmas memories
Christmas is next week and I got the idea for this post from my friends over at Accentuate Writers Forum. I read Lindsay’s blog post on the same subject and decided to write one myself. Thanks for the idea guys! 
Do you have fond memories of Christmas when you were a child? Do they make you feel happy, sad, and all warm and fuzzy inside at the same time? I have some good memories and they make me feel all of those things at once. I miss Christmas when I was a kid.
I remember going to sleep early on Christmas Eve only to have problems falling asleep because I was so excited about Christmas and Santa Clause coming that I would just lay there and thing about what I would do in the morning and how many presents would be under the tree. I would finally fall asleep because what else could I do? I wanted to go downstairs and try to take a peek but I knew mom would get mad if she heard me up.
Then, bright and early at 6am on Christmas morning I would wake up mom and dad, dad was a scrooge and wouldn’t get up until he was good and ready. Mom and me would go downstairs and open our gifts. Then she would make us breakfast while I was happily playing with my new toys. Dad would finally get up about 10am and open his gifts and me and mom would sit there and watch him with big smiles on our faces. Then I would fall asleep until mom had Christmas dinner done and we would all get dressed up in our best clothes and sit at the table to eat. Mom always laid out the pretty dinner plates and glasses. The table looked so pretty and Christmasy!
I wasn’t an only child but I might as well have been one. My big brother was 10 years older than me and my sister was 8 years older than me and they weren’t around much, especially as I got older. They went off on their own at 16 and 18. My sister had a baby at the age of 16 and she moved out to Massachusetts with my aunt and uncle. My brother was staying with friends and often lived with my grandparents because he and my dad didn’t get along. My dad is their stepfather.
I remember the year I found out there was no Santa Clause. I was 8 or 9 years old and we were living in a small trailer. We didn’t have room for a tree so mom would decorate the bar in between the kitchen and the living room and put the presents on top of it. Sometimes she would also put a small table in the living room and decorate it. Mom knew how to make our Christmas great even if we were broke most of the time.
The year I found out there was no Santa Clause, I was about 8 years old, I fell asleep on the couch and mom made the mistake of leaving me there. I remember asking her before I fell asleep how would Santa Clause get in since we didn’t have a chimney. She told me that she would let Santa in when he got here. I let it go and went to sleep. I woke up a few hours later because I heard someone lightly walking through the living room. I thought it was Santa and opened my eyes because I just had to take a peek. I didn’t see Santa but saw my mom instead. I asked her why she was putting the presents out and where Santa was. She was dumbfounded with what to say and took a few minutes to answer me. She said she met Santa at the door and because he was so busy he gave her the presents to put out for us. I knew she was lying but I let her believe I believed her. It wasn’t until I was much older that I confessed and told her I knew there was no Santa Clause that year. I was disappointed that year but we still had a great Christmas!
My last memory of my brother was the month before he died. He died January 31st 1993 when I was 12 years old. He was 22 and got shot and died instantly. Anyway I will always remember the last Christmas we had together. He spent the night that Christmas Eve and when I got up at 6am Christmas Day, I didn’t bother waking mom because I knew she was really wore out from working and trying to make Christmas nice for all of us. Besides, my big brother was downstairs sleeping and I had a special present for him that year and I was more excited to give him his gifts that I was to open my own.
So I went downstairs and he was laying on the couch with his headphones on. I woke him up and told him it was Christmas and he needed to get up and open his gifts. He smiled at me and got up and I handed him the gift I bought him. It was a paint set! My big brother was a very good artist and he loved to draw and paint. My mom still has some of his paintings still and we will always treasure them. Anyway, he opened his gift and the big smile on his face was the best present I ever got. It was priceless. I miss him so much! I know he is now painting in Heaven for God and the Angels!
That was my favorite Christmas memory of all time and I will treasure it as long as I live. My big brother was going to go to art school but he died instead. I still wonder how he would be if he would have lived. I am 28 and he would be 38. I wonder if we would get along as adults like we did back then. I am sure we would be best friends!
What are your Christmas memories? Think about them and how they make you feel. Merry Christmas everyone!
