What is your favorite memory from a Christmas past?
I don't think I have one specific favorite memory, but my favorite collection of Christmas memories from my childhood were the ones spent at my Grandma Loretta's house. If I close my eyes I can see just how her house was decorated the last Christmas we spent with her. I remember the table of snacks she always had out...caramel corn, chex mix, cookies...and the hot rolls she got up early that morning to make fresh...the mashed potatoes and gravy...We always got exactly what we told her we wanted and usually something practical too! It was ALWAYS relaxed...and we totally ruled the day!! She let us eat and do whatever we wanted on Christmas day. But most importantly she always made sure that we knew WHOSE day it was...our Saviour Jesus.
So, I'm crying now because I can smell her wood-burning stove as we get out of the car and I can see myself struggling to carry in gifts and food as my kids run up ahead of me and skip up the steps of the deck and burst through the kitchen door. She dries her hands on her kitchen towel and scoops them all up to hug their little necks and they are SO happy to be there!! They beg her to let them open gifts and she says wait for your mom and dad to get in the door and then we tear through piles and piles of wrapped packages to have our hearts delighted by the perfect gifts she's given each of us. While the kids are busy unpacking all their loot, I head to the kitchen with her to finish up the cooking. We gather together in a circle and she offers up a prayer before we file through the kitchen to pile our plates with food. The adults sit at the dining table she has set so beautifully and the kids sit at a smaller table, just their size, that also wears special Christmas finery.
I'm SO blessed to have these memories, but I would be lying if I said that I was just a little {okay, a lot} disappointed that they are memories my children will never have. Sure they are having their own wonderful childhood Christmas memories, but there's something special about sharing a little part of my childhood with them too!
Your turn....
2 comments:
Ok young lady....this made me cry the big ugly cry...I MISS your Grandma and all that was CHRISTMAS because of her...so much I can barely STAND it...It is hard to pin-point ONE memory...I share most of what you wrote...as children we were pretty strapped for money and she made us new flannel nightgowns with matching hats every year and our baby dolls got a matching outfit ( she made them right in front of us at the kitchen table and we did not catch on for a few years)...my sister and I shared a bed and a bedroom...we would sneak up and plug in the tree and take a blanket from the bed and lay under the tree and stare at the lights...many times we fell asleep...one year we hid under the steps and watched our parents wheel in new baby buggies,,, then we snuck upstairs later and pushed them in the dark...I miss her cooking and squealing with DELIGHT when we arrived....but as soon as the day was nearly over, and the dishes done..she would start taking down the decorations...IT WAS OVER...and she wanted things back in their proper place...I would so love for her to have met your kids...and see them in action together....
My favorite Christmas memories ... Christmas Eve candlelight service, peaking over my shoulder for glimpses of my Colorado cousins (are they here YET?), Santa coming to Grandma's house (live, in the flesh visit), glow in the dark socks, new underoos for everyone (line up for a PICTURE of you in your new underoos) ... as a mom, staying up late on Christmas Eve to finish the wrapping, board and card games with my family, screaming kids in what used to seem like a big house!
Traci
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