Halloween is over. Sure, the pumpkins still hold their places on the stairs, but November is here and that means all sorts of lights and sounds for the holidays. From this time forward, Mama will make each holiday a unique celebration. This however, our season of joy and wonder, is marching steadily on toward Christmas.
The storms of fall are raging as we rapidly approach Thanksgiving. The old record player is spinning and the crooners come out…Sinatra, Crosby and countless others. Thanksgiving day we are prayerfully preparing the turkey, pies and trimmings, hoping every moment that the meal will be cooked before we lose all power. Many a meal has been made on the faithful woodstove in our kitchen.
November passes into December. We celebrate my birthday with my favorite special meal: chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and green beans. There is always a wonderful present and Mama making every effort to make my birthday shine. At my birthday party, one of my friends dresses up, grabs our old guitar and starts belting out Elvis tunes! I laugh, this is the first time Mama and Papa have met her! What a happy fun time!
My birthday passes and Mama allows us to prepare the house for Christmas. We head to the attic for the decorations and the woods for a tree. Often, as we search for the perfect Christmas tree, there is snow on the ground. Once home, Papa strings it with lights. Then Mama, the three little girls and I all jump in with him to lovingly decorate it. We have an amazing assortment of ornaments; some are seemingly ordinary balls and others are angels, a special one for every Christmas for each of us and ones that we have made. Soon the crèches are displayed; the mantle is hung with boughs of cedar and still the records play.
On the eve of Christmas, Papa will light the fire and we will all get to open our first present of the season. We know that they are a variety of pajamas, nightgowns, robes and slippers, but we don’t care. We know that we will love everything Mama has carefully chosen for us.
It’s here! Christmas morning! All four of us girls are awake early and excited. We know that the sight will be nothing like we can imagine! Although they have probably just gone to bed, Mama and Papa don’t complain that we are waking them, they groan a little, but climb out of bed good naturedly. Within moments they are as excited as we!
Papa goes ahead, plugs in the tree, stokes the fire and sets the scene for us. Mama waits with us in the hall to make sure we aren’t peeking. As Mama leads us into the living room, we squeal with joy and wonder! We each have stockings hanging over the fire; Mama and Papa have affectionately filled them each with treasures we’ll adore and they do the same for each other! There are bicycles and dolls, strollers and more! We pass out the gifts, being sure each person has one before we open them. Somehow Mama and Papa manage to find the perfect gift for each of us, we are so blessed.
Christmas day brings the holiday ham, decked out in cloves and served with a rum raisin sauce, au gratin potatoes and fresh rolls. The house smells heavenly as we spend the morning playing and exclaiming over our new treasures. Grandma’s box of holiday treats has come and we finally get to eat current squares, our favorite! The afternoon turns into evening as we visit with friends.
As the evening deepens into night, it finds four sleepy girls and two worn out parents, a houseful of treasures and silent echoes of the day’s laughter. Turning down the lights, damping down the fire, the night finds us all bedecked in our Christmas finery, climbing sleepily into our beds.
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