Christmas Past

I'm sitting here, watching the most inane Christmas shows of television present that my kids seem to really enjoy, and I have a hard time relating to. "Annoying Orange" is a fitting title. If I had a juicer...

I can remember the classics (and they still are!): "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," "Charlie Brown Christmas," "The Grinch" (Cartoon only!)

I would wait and wait until I began to see the commercials for their air dates, and you couldn't miss them (no DVRs or VCRs then!), and then sitting in front of the TV, fireplace blazing–good memories for sure.

I remember one Christmas, I wrote and asked Santa for a wolfman doll, just like Eddie Munster had. When I got up Christmas morning, there was a note tacked to the fireplace and read, "Dear Edward, I really wanted to give you a wolfman doll for Christmas, but it kept waking up and eating the elves. Love, Santa"
(My dad had a macabre sense of humor, to say the least, but he knew what to say that would make me feel okay about not getting one. I wouldn't want the elves to die on my account, right?) My dad had a way like that. Throwing dog poo on the roof and telling us it was "reindeer buzz" We believed and that's why I am filled with such good memories of Christmas past.

We used to get up sooo early. One year, I think it was 3:30 a.m. My dad said one year, not until the dog barked to go out, usually around 6. This certain year, it was 5. He wasn't happy. We always had to wait for dad to go in the living room and turn the tree lights on before coming into the living room to see what we had. I cherish those memories and try to have them live on for my family. My dad has been gone for three years, and I miss him all the time, especially at this time of the year. His presence is still felt every day, as the memories flood back into my mind. The kids have gone to bed, so now I think I will enjoy some Charlie Brown...