Christmas Morning
We celebrate
Christmas as we like getting presents.
Who doesn’t? We don’t quite have the excitement to get out of bed to
rush to check out what has been left under the tree. At our age there are few surprises. Still, the man grumbled a bit when I asked
him to run a tub of water for my bath.
“But it is
Christmas,” he said.
Okay, there
are surprises under the tree for him. I am probably the only one not too
surprised at what is there for me. After all, I, carefully guide him to various
little shops pick out what I want and left him in the caring hands of a friend
working in one of the shops to wrap the goodies. Or as we shop for groceries
and what nots, I place in the basket items of interest and once home, I place
them strategically upon the bed for him to wrap.
Once again,
the age thing. I admit I did not
remember the details of some of things I had picked out over a month ago. Therefore,
this morning, I was excited when I tore open some of the packages. This year, I
neglected to pull out our stockings, the first time in 42 years. I had gotten them
for our first Christmas together. There was a stuffed monkey in the man’s striped
red and white stocking. I don’t know
what happened to the monkey but I remember the happiness of being with the one
I loved on Christmas morning.
Each day is
a blessing, a miracle reminding we do not have to wait until a special designated
day to celebrate. Let us celebrate the
miracle of life. We are breathing. Enjoy.
On that
note, here is something, I wrote over thirty years ago.
Sleeping Under the Stockings
Sometimes the amount of excitement was so strong, that no coaxing could
convince the children to crawl between the blankets. It was after all, the magical night, the
night before Christmas. Tired parents placed cozy blankets around the three
children as they sat close to the glory of the dazzling tinseled tree. There was no fire in the fireplace tonight
for the children had begged for the jolly elf’s sake. The house was warm for the fire had burned
brightly all day. In a second room, a
pot-bellied black stove was banked and it would warm the house throughout the
night.
Stockings were hung on
sturdy nails that were driven into the mantel.
Each one had been carefully knitted by grandmother with loving
hands. A plate of tempting molasses
popcorn balls was placed on a three-legged wooden stool which sat close to the
slowly cooling fireplace. Carrots and
apples sat on the floor, ready for the magical spirit to take to his waiting
reindeer.
The mother and father
kissed their beloved little girl and two boys, wishing the nodding heads sweet
dreams. The gas lights on the walls were
turned down. The soft remaining light
gave the silvery clad tree a mystical beauty.
A beauty that seemed to grow and fill the room. The sandman quickly took the children to the
perfect dreamland.
Emily was first to
awaken in the stillness of night. She
gazed at the beautiful tree and looked to see that the popcorn balls were safe
on the wooden stool. The room was glowing
softly from the feebly burning gaslights on the walls. The moonlight shone gently through the wooden
paned windows to rest on the floor and rugs.
Emily stared at the moonlight coming in the windows and suddenly she sat
up and rubbed her eyes with wonder. In
the moonlight, sitting on the floor was a small angel.
Emily reached over to
her right and pinched Ben awake. Then
she turned over to her left and pinched Shawn to wake him. When that did not work, she pulled on his
arm to shake him. Both boys were
groggy. Emily whispered to them to be
quiet and she pointed to the angel who was still sitting on the floor.
The angel was
glowing. As the angel glowed the room
became brighter and brighter until it was nearly as bright as the day. The
angel was humming, softly as a light breeze through the tall lilacs that stood
by the side of the house. Standing up,
the angel started to pirouette about the room and in the soft moonlight. The children were entranced by the lightness
of the angel’s movements and without knowing it they began to dance by the side
of the heavenly being. Their hearts were
so light and filled with happiness that without knowing it, the children
started floating in mid-air.
They continued to dance for quite some time until the angel stopped with
a sigh and sank into a graceful pile on the floor. The children collapsed breathlessly next to
the glowing creature of heaven. Carefully, Emily reached out her hand to touch
the cheek of the angel. The blessed
being, laughed and stood up. Then
bending over, the angel kissed each of the children on the tops of their
heads. Placing a finger on its lips and
nodding its head, the angel beckoned to the children to follow across the room
to where the nativity scene was displayed on a low table by the window. The lovely presence pointed to glowing
display which sat in the moonlight.
Before the children’s eyes, the tiny figures became alive. The figures started to grow until the room
was filled and Emily, Ben, and Shawn watched with joy as Mary held in her arms
the holy child. Joseph, stood by her
side, and welcomed the three wise men with their gifts. In the stable, the soft lowing of cows and
the bleating of the goats and sheep echoed the joy of the angelic choir that
was softly singing Hallelujah.
It seemed to the children that the room had disappeared and that they
were truly at the stable where the child slept peacefully in the manager where
his mother Mary had placed him. As they
looked to the sky, the children saw the glory of the shining star of Bethlehem
above the stable where the child was born. They kneeled in the straw with the
angel at their side and gave the pure prayers of children in worship to
God. Their little hearts were filled
with the holy love and joy of God. The
heavenly choir’s songs of joy grew louder and filled the children to the brim
with peace.
The scene before the children grew dim, the holy figures grew small, and
the nativity display sat once more upon the table in the soft moonlight. The angel led sleepy children back to their
beds on the floor and gently placed blankets about them. Quickly, the little ones fell back to sleep
and the angel kissed each one upon their foreheads.
The divine angel stood up, and glowing into a brilliance that flooded the
room began to fade away. As the loving
being faded away, the angel turned to the fireplace and winked at red clad gent
who was leaving his wares beneath the tinseled tree and to those who were
sleeping under the stockings.
