I got the following in an e-mail the other day. And it struck a chord with me.
When our oldest son, now 15, was just a very small baby, we spent a Christmas Day running from one house to another. We had to be somewhere at 10:00am and somewhere else at 2:00pm and somewhere else at 6:00pm. When we finally got home that night with a cranky 3 month old baby and an even crankier Mama, I said, "We are NEVER doing that again!!!" And we haven't!
Every Christmas we spend days and days opening our gifts. Every person takes one turn while the rest of us watch. Then usually, the opener of the gift wants to play with their new gift, or as they get older, go try it on for a mini-fashion show. By the time that is over an hour has passed. And the second gift is opened. Then, of course, we need a snack break.
Oh yah, I don't cook a big Christmas meal either. We kind of "graze" all day. We always have croissants for breakfast; you know the kind that you put out the night before and they rise overnight. And then we snack all day long... No real meal, just appetizers, fruit plates, vegie plates, snacks. My Christmas memories as a child are of my Mom and my Grandma spending the whole, entire Christmas day in the kitchen - cooking. I hope we are changing the way our children remember Christmas. It's not about the gifts; it's not about the food; it's about each other and the time we spend together. Those are the memories I want our children to cherish.
I hope the following poem touches your heart as much as it did mine. And always remember you and only YOU make YOUR Christmas. :-)
Blessings my friends.
The Night Before Christmas'Twas the night before Christmas & out on the ranch
The pond was froze over & so was the branch.
The snow was piled up belly-deep to a mule.
The kids were all home on vacation from school.
And happier young folks you never did see -
Just all sprawled around a-watchin' TV.
Then suddenly, some time around 8 o'clock,
There came a surprise that gave them a shock!
The power went off, the TV went dead!
When Grandpa came in from out in the shed
With an armload of wood, the house was all dark.
"Just what I expected," they heard him remark.
"Them power line wires must be down from the snow.
Seems sorter like times on the ranch long ago."
"I'll hunt up some candles," said Mom. "With their light,
And with the fireplace, I reckon we'll make out all right."
The teen-agers all seemed enveloped in gloom.
Then Grandpa came back from a trip to his room,
Uncased his old fiddle & started to play
That old Christmas song about bells on a sleigh.
Mom started to sing, & 1st thing they knew
Both Pop & the kids were all singing it, too.
They sang Christmas carols, they sang "Holy Night,"
Their eyes all a-shine in the ruddy firelight.
They played some charades Mom recalled from her youth,
And Pop read a passage from God's Book of Truth.
They stayed up till midnight-and, would you believe,
The youngsters agreed 'twas a fine Christmas Eve.
Grandpa rose early, some time before dawn;
And when the kids wakened, the power was on...
"The power company sure got the line repaired quick,"
Said Grandpa - & no one suspected his trick.
Last night, for the sake of some old-fashioned fun,
He had pulled the main switch - the old Son-of-a-Gun!
-anonymous
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!
PS: Photo courtesy of Michelle Tan.
