Sharing

It's the tree's fault - really - it's all the tree's fault!!

I was sitting here this morning sipping my first cup of coffee - just waking up - brain not quite in gear - and I realized I was staring at the Christmas tree.  It's really nothing special - smallish - lights and decorations collected over the years......... and while I stared mindlessly at / into the tree - memories started pouring back........... memories of Christmases long long ago.................

I remembered how much my father loved Christmas - oh he was worst than a kid when it came to Christmas.   He was the one who created my Christmas memories - I honestly don't remember my Mom being so excited or caught up in the season. 

I remember 

* my dad dragging in the REAL Christmas tree and putting it in the basement to thaw

* my dad was in charge of putting the lights on - my Mom and I put the decorations on and my Mom put the silvery tinsel icicles on - one at a time.

* that first night of the TREE  - we ate supper in the living room on TV tables with all the lights off except the twinkling tree lights with Christmas music playing in the background 

* my dad driving us all around after dark to see all the decorations our neighbours had put up - and there was always Christmas music playing on the radio in the car.

* my dad taking me down to Oglivy's (a posh store downtown) that had the most amazing Christmas windows -  animated forest creatures decorating their trees - baking cookies.  It felt like we stood there for hours watching - it was magical !!

* Christmas morning we always went to church - leaving the gifts to open after - but my dad would always let me chose one gift to open first............. 

*Christmas dinner was always at my grandmother's - in the basement on a HUGE make shift table of plywood with saw horse legs to accommodate the whole family of 14 and the poinsettia table cloth AND I always got to have ginger ale in a wine glass

* my dad lying under the Christmas tree with my eldest daughter (who had to have been 3 or 4) and his asking her if she could see the Christmas fairies dancing in the branches - and she could!!

* the first Christmas without my dad - and realizing that year after my youngest (who was 4 year ) declared "Santa was dead" -  that the magic of Christmas (if it was ever gonna visit our house again) was up to me

* in the years after I built gingerbread villages or gingerbread trains with  my kids - we made apple print wrapping paper - we made decorations - we wrote Santa long lists and went to visit him the week before Christmas.

* we drove around our neighbourhood to see all the decorations with taped Christmas music playing in the car

*  and then the magic slowly disappeared for a while - until - eldest grandson arrived - and once again the magic returned.

Yup Christmas is really about family and memories and warm fuzzy feelings of "peace on earth and goodwill to men" 

What memories do you have?  Share with me - here on The Journey - let's do this journey through the season together..................