7 Christmases

Last week, we went and saw the movie, 4 Christmases. It was pretty funny in certain parts but a few areas were less humorous. Well this isn’t about that movie. This is a meme that I invite you to join in if you like and tell us about 7 Christmases past. No tagging involved here. Just play along if the urge hits you. So here are 7 things about my past Christmases.

1. The stockings were hung.

As far back as I can remember we had stockings but ours were really socks. We didn’t have a chimney though and hanging them by the kerosene stove in the hall just didn’t seem right so we would put them on the edge of the couch by the Christmas tree. We didn’t get toys in our stockings like kids do these days. We usually got the same thing every year. We got an apple, an orange, some nuts with the shells on them and some individually wrapped hard candy. Coincidently our father liked those kinds of nuts and my mother liked the hard candy.

2. Always a shepherd, never a wise man.

Every year, the church we went to would put on a Christmas pageant. Everyone would sing songs and the children would perform the Christmas Play. For some reason I always had to be a shepherd. I wanted to be a wise man but those parts went to the older boys. Many years later, after we switched churches, I was chosen to play Joseph. When you think about it, Joseph was a step down from a shepherd. Still no wise man. :)

3. A new fishing pole.

I can’t remember ever not loving to fish. Dad had lots of old rods and reels in his garage and I would take them apart and fix them so that I had something to fish with. One Christmas I got a brand new rod and reel. I was so happy. The very next day, I got on my bike with that new fishing pole and headed down to the river to try it out. I remember that it was very cold that day and I was bundled up in heavy clothes but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from fishing. On the way to the river though, I hit a bump and as I was falling, my fishing rod went in the spokes and was broken into little pieces. I never even got to use my new fishing pole.

4. Levi’s please.

This particular Christmas, everyone was asking for Levi’s denim jackets. I was no exception. I wanted one in the worst way. I hinted, then begged, pleaded, hoped and prayed that my parents would come through for me. That Christmas morning, I ran to the tree and quickly spied the package that I knew was some kind of clothes. As I tore it open, I could see that it was a denim jacket and I felt like; finally I got what I asked for. As I held the jacket up to admire it, I noticed that it wasn’t a Levi’s jacket, it was an imitation made by J M Fields. You could tell because of the little label and also the name on the brass buttons. The first time I wore it to school, the other kids made fun of me so I took the jacket off. From then on I would wear the jacket in the mornings but take it off and put it in my locker when I got to school.

5. Christmas kiss.

One year, a friend of mine asked if I wanted to go caroling with her church youth group. I gladly accepted. It was a lot of fun and we rode around in the back of several pickup trucks sitting on hay and sipping hot coco. As the night wore on, it got pretty chilly so my friend and I (a girl) began snuggling under a blanket to stay warm. Somehow, we began holding hands and when we got back to her house after the caroling, we kissed. It was my first real kiss. After that, we dated for about a year.

6. The truth about Santa.

I actually found out about Santa from my cousins. The spilled the beans many years before after they stayed up and caught their parents wrapping presents. I was shocked. One year, my father played Santa for the city. Back then, there was only one Santa in town. Not like it is these days where every store in town has a Santa. I spent a lot of time up there around the “North Pole” because my new girlfriend was one of the Santa’s helpers. She wore a little pixie outfit and I felt I should keep an eye on her because I heard someone at school say that the elves up there were cute.

7. Our first Christmas….apart.

Our (my wife and I) first Christmas was actually spent apart. We had met in October and only been dating for two months. I went to Florida to spend Christmas with my family and she stayed in SC with hers. I already knew she was the one for me so I wanted to get her a nice present but I wasn’t sure what to get. A friend of mine worked at a jewelry store and said that I couldn’t go wrong with jewelry. I decided on a nice emerald necklace to go along with the jewelry box that I had already purchased. At that time, it was the most expensive present I had ever bought. I wrapped it and left it at her house for her to open on Christmas. She was impressed with her present and we were married the following June. No since wasting time. Because I was in the Navy, we spent many of the next Christmases apart but we are still together.

Merry Christmas everyone,

Greg