At our Book Group last week where we reviewed My Dear Husband's Christmas book, we shared our own Christmas memories. As I was sharing mine, I realized that I've never written it down, so here it is.
I believe the year was 1962, the year I turned 5 a week after Christmas. We lived in Laramie, Wyoming. That year my paternal grandparents, and my Uncle Bob, a newly returned missionary, joined us for Christmas. We lived in a small rambler with a basement. The basement had the old-school high rectangular windows.
On Christmas Eve, following our traditional dinner and program, Uncle Bob, my brother, Keith, and I went down to the basement where we were sleeping that night. Of course, Keith and I were very excited about Santa's anticipated visit and were far too wound up to sleep. I remember Uncle Bob standing on the bed and looking out the window into the front yard. He described to us in great detail what he "saw" on the front lawn: A sleigh with eight reindeer pawing in the snow and Santa Claus getting ready to come into our home with gifts for us. It was SO real to me, then, and even now as I remember it. The way Uncle Bob described it was magical and I really believed that he saw the scene he painted in our minds.
One of the gifts I received the next morning was this ceramic, piggy-bank Santa Claus from my Uncle Bob:
This little guy is still intact after 47 years, having traveled with my family to five states, four countries, and three continents. It is a treasured part of our collection of Santas.
Uncle Bob gave me two gifts that Christmas; a Santa statue, and, more importantly, a belief in the reality of a kind and generous persona that represents the best in all of us when we feel the true spirit of Christmas.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Christmas Memory
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4 comments:
What a fun memory! Thanks for sharing, I sure do love Uncle Bob!
I remember that Santa!
Thanks for sharing!
Uncle Bob is so cool...one more reason I love him so much.
Uncle Bob enjoyed your comments Janet. I remember that COLD below zero Christmas. Walking Ginny last night with the snow crunching under my feet reminded me of those Laramie days. Good Christmas memories are always special to many folks.
That was a great memory and that dear old Santa has gone a long ways around the world. I also remember that Christmas because when we got up the next morning it was 25 below zero and the main pipes in our area had broken and the alley was an ice skating rink, except with the ruts you couldn't have skated on it.
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