I have such fond memories of the Holidays from my childhood. My parents did a really good job instilling the Christmas Spirit in our house. They must have since I still believe in Santa Claus. I remember creeping into the living room one time at 5AM and admiring the allure of the our tree... or maybe I was just eyeing up the gifts. I eventually passed out under the tree around 6 because I had given up on every one else getting up that early. My mom, dad, and brother came out around 7:30 and enjoyed a good laugh at my expense.
Christmas was my favorite Holiday and it wasn't just about the gifts. I especially loved Christmas EVE. We always went to my Aunt Sandy's (my Godmother) house, where we enjoyed a traditional old school Italian meal with the 7 fishes and plenty more where that came from. Vino was flowing like the Mississippi and everyone was always laughing. Good times. My family was simply enjoying each other's company. Man, those were the days.
Surprisingly, Christmas has kept its luster. I still enjoy it as much as I once did as a child. The only problem now is we all live far away. My parents live in Florida. My brother lays his head in New Jersey. And I reside in Southern California. So it's interesting trying to get all of us together around the Holidays. My mom and brother REFUSE to get on Airplanes. My dad doesn't mind flying, but refuses to leave my mother behind. My brother thinks it's sacrilegious to celebrate the birth of Christ anywhere it doesn't SNOW. Then again, my mom doesn't want to travel too far now that she's in her Golden Girl years and my pops, who seems to be indifferent, just wants everyone to be together... only if we can afford it.
Last year was the first Christmas I spent away from my family. On Christmas Eve, I hosted a little dinner and White Elephant Party for 10 of my friends who couldn't make it home. I cooked for hours, drank wine, blasted X-MAS tunes, and played Home Alone on a loop. We all had a great time. Although I missed my family, I realized that a wonderful Christmas can be had anywhere. Since I didn't make it home for Christmas or New Years, I flew to Florida for my Mom's birthday and the Superbowl a month later. And we had our own BELATED Christmas. Better late than never.
I love giving gifts. It's an amazing feeling to watch a person's face when they are genuinely grateful for what they've received. I find so much joy in coming up with a thoughtful, fun gift. It's awesome. You feel so good, you don't even want a gift in return. And if you're lucky enough to get one, you appreciate it more than usual, even if you don't like it because it was all about the process and tradition.
One year when I was about 16; we were having some family problems. I came home from boarding school for the Holidays and for the first time EVER... THE TREE WASN'T UP! I felt like I had been TASERED by a Righty copper at a Lefty Political Rally in Missoula, Montana. My mom just didn't have time to worry about it. She was busy working her ASS off to keep a roof over our heads, while she and my father were going through their issues. My parents were separated at the time... and that was the reason we were SANS tree. It was nobody's fault. There were more important things to worry about. Dad wasn't around to take care of the Tree business. My brother was at college, god knows where, but one of the 10 universities he attended and I was away at Prep School. It was hard for my Mom to get all of these things done while trying to work and take care of the house.
During dinner that evening something was different. My mom wasn't sad, she was definitely happy to see me, but she wasn't in her regular Christmas season kickoff dinner mood. We talked about the tree. She explained it was hard for her to carry up the stairs (we had a fake tree) and we weren't really exchanging many gifts that year dude to rough times financially. I completely understood. So I helped her with the dishes, kissed her goodnight, and she went off to bed.
As soon as she closed her door; I started working on my gift to her. I immediately went downstairs to the basement and found the tree. There was shit all over the place because we had moved into that house less than a year before. I wrestled the tree out of its box and hauled it piece by piece upstairs. Even though my mom's bedroom door was on the ground floor right next to the basement door, I knew she wouldn't hear a thing. She can't hear anything when she's knocked out. The woman sleeps like a F'in LOG. A tank could roll over her bed firing heavy artillery and she wouldn't notice.
This wasn't my first RODEO with a tree, but it was the first time I'd ever tried to do it on my own. My father was always there, and I was his little helper.
This tree was a big MOTHER, almost 9 feet tall. First I put that sonofabitch together and wrapped the skirt around the bottom. I meticulously put the lights up after that. Then I decorated it with all of my favorite ornaments from childhood concentrating on the ones I knew Mommy loved best. I followed up with applying a few layers of tinsel. Finally, after sneaking a few beers from the garage refrigerator (sorry H) and almost 4 hours later... I placed that beautiful white STAR on top. I stepped down from the ladder, plugged everything in and stepped back. It was beautiful. I smiled at my creation and walked upstairs to hit the sack.
The next morning I woke up early to see the look on my Mom's face. She came out of her room, put up a pot of coffee, lit her morning smoke and walked into the living room. I heard her say "Oh my GOD!" She was so happy. I came downstairs and she showered me with hugs and kisses and thanked me an infinite amount of times. She really appreciated it. It was the best gift I could have given her. She didn't want material things... She just wanted to feel the Christmas Spirit like she did when we were young. Although we didn't have as many gifts as usual to exchange that year, we still had another GREAT CHRISTMAS because we had something much better... Each other.
Happy Holidays Kids!!!
Your Mom rocks ! Thanks for loving her so much ! your Dad to ! That was the sweetest christmas story I have ever heard ! I know your mom always was a very hard worker ,,And always so loving ! I dont fly either nor does my dad ,,I love your writing ! Merry christmas keith !
ReplyDeleteyour cousin Denise ,,