Christmas Memories

One of my favorite childhood memories is when we were living in Pennsylvania. Lots of snow. Not once did we miss school due to snow, but once we got stuck at the school for a few hours until the blizzard calmed down. My dad even made us an igloo in the backyard. I have many fond memories of the place. From the retired train engineer by the bus stop who’d start up his old coal burning stove in his shed each morning so we’d stay warm waiting for the bus, camping during the summer, and esp tobogganing down the hills across the street.

One of my favorite friends of our family was a man who was blind, and tuned pianos for a living. Sometimes, we’d give him a ride and he’d tell us when to turn to get where we needed to go. Every Christmas he’d put up a tree. He’d provide refreshments and invite all the neighbor children to come by and help decorate. I was always impressed with how it was important to him to celebrate Christmas and provide joy for others at the same time.

Christmas morning we were busily opening our presents, and something seemed a little different. It seemed like our gifts were a little slim that year. I don’t remember what they were, probably stuff like clothes, no toys or such. Santa seemed to have not added his gifts to the pile.

I remembered that in the basement we had an extra fireplace and chimney. Perhaps Santa had visited the basement. I don’t think you’d ever seen us kids run down those steps so fast. And what to our wondering eyes should appear, but more presents!

I’d helped make several of our family traditions. One year I put together a play and had my younger sisters and brother help perform. We had plays for the next several years and I’d put them together. Then I learned to make pinatas by covering a balloon in paper mache, filling it full of candy. We did that many years in a row.

Not long after we moved to Louisiana, my dad was building a family room with a fireplace. Yeah! Santa would have a chimney to come down. Christmas time and my cat was missing. Then we heard the strangest sound and our cat came down the chimney all covered in soot.

As I think back the details blur, but I’ll always remember the feelings. The fun, we had, joy we shared as a family.

Distances separate my brothers and sisters. We can pick up the phone and call each other, email, send a card, instant messenger. So many tools that make it easy to stay in touch. Yet do we use them? Or do we say let me catch up on one more thing. I can call, write a note, send an email tomorrow, or the next day, or the next?