{ epilogue: Can not blog on political issues all the time, it is Christmas...}
Over at the Morning Martini POP posted the Question Best and Worst Christmas Gifts...or memories.
I sat and pondered this and realized that most my Christmas Memories have to do with Children, my son or other people's children. Here are some snippets of Christmas Memories....
STORY NUMBER ONE: SANTA AND HIS SLEIGH.
As a nurse working in Vermont in the 1980's I first came to realize how fragile the Myth of Santa Claus is, and that parents work feverishly attempting to keep the magic alive. I was working Pediatrics and we still had a fairly full floor and it was two days before Christmas. I went and asked my neighbor Diane who was a mom and a 1st grade Teacher, "So how do I help the parents at Christmas". She looked puzzled and said " What do you mean ? ". I said " Well, the kids are already starting to ask HOW Santa will find them. And we keep saying oh, he will find you, in his sleigh, but they are not totally buying it. She jumped up and ran to the other room and came back with sleigh bells, 8 of them on a big leather strap. She laughed , said that they had been on sale at the Von Trapp Lodge, "Totally useless, but I bet they sound just like Santa???!!!".
So Christmas Eve I crept up and down the darkened hallway a little after 11pm and gently jiggled the bells. Mike the respiratory therapist came with me and every now and then would bellow in a jolly voice, " Whoa Donner, Whoa Blitzen", and "HoHOHOHOHOho"...... Midnight I drove home wondering if anyone heard Santa on his sleigh back in my own neighborhood.
So I got home to my little Vermont Small Town Street,( and yes, it was Main Street) and I told my EX, MrNurse what I did and showed him The Bells, and he said, "Well, we have a bunch of little Skeptics on this street too, maybe we need to Bring Santa's Sleigh here too." So we snuck out into the Crisp Vermont night, and it was bitter cold, icey weather.And we went to most of the houses on our street that had kids and gently shook the bells and HoHohHo'd.
We had only one real Toubled Yard, and that was a yard where Mr.Nurse slipped on some ice, and fell on his behind, and there was a Bit of a Clatter and Bit of Cussing, Bit oh, WHAT is the Matter...and then a bit of the Enigma laughing so hard she almost fell.
We came back home and made some Christmas hot drinks and felt very satisfied with our Santa Efforts. We also knew full well that the kids might not have heard the bells, but we had hope.
The next day we got a full report from the neighborhood, and the little girl and her sisters, 5 girls, who lived next to the Icey Incident, " "It was so amazing, We heard Santa, and NOT just his bells, we heard him laughing and then we heard him fall and then we heard him cussing, and it sounded like he had an Elf helper with him. I didn't know Santa could cuss like THAT."
For many years I tried to carry on this odd little tradition , as needed. Even for my own son the bells came out a few times.
This year my son wants to help with the Bells.
5 comments:
"Can not blog on political issues all the time, it is Christmas..."
Great story! =)
How fantastic!
And you made it a tradition!!
Ahh my kid brother is seven and he's beginning to get the lectures from the other children.
For awhile just letting him know that any santa in a store was a "santas helper" was cutting it, now not so much.
So the cast of characters has returned or been created.
The Santa Bat. (Also the Easter Bat, The Chanukah Bat etc..) a creation from my mother who has recently returned to now confuse my brother :)
Santa Bear.
Destiny the Transexual Santa...(I was raised in new york city. I can't help it...besides I felt hey! I knew about it at his age!)
Santa Sushi...any friendly fish whom my brother happens to be allergic to..
and much much more in the making!
He's enjoying it and believing in it for the moment....i think i'll have to warn him though that teachers will not be amused.
oops.
Happy Early Christmas Enigma!
Thanks Fred...Merry Christmas to you..
VB: yup tradition...it is a good thing...Bells...now about NYC..Destiny- the treansexual santa and sushi santa...so much fun...how wonderful you have a 7 year old brother to spend the holidays...wow...magical...Have a Merry Holidays...( let me know I can always send the bells your way)
"I didn't know Santa could cuss like THAT!"
Too funny...and too sweet, you li'l Santa's Helper, you. Thanks for another good one.
The best X-mas story in our family is about my uncle, back in the '40s I guess, playing Santa at church for the kids (Uncle Harlan was always on the "rotund" side) and getting busted by his own five-year-old. "Mama," she whispers, "That's Daddy -- Santa's got Daddy's shoes on!" And so family folklore is born.
The little nippers can be sharper than we give credit for!
You know, I have no memory of believing in Santa! But I do remember believing that my parents waited up to the stroke of midnight to set out our presents. I wanted very badly to be able to catch them in the act & PROVE it, but I could NEVER manage to pretend to be asleep until midnight. This went on for years until finally it didn't seem important any more.
Aaah, that was a great sleigh bell tale, Enigma! There was one year my aunt hosted a big family thing with all my little cousins in attendance. I, being one of older ones, looked up sharply in disbelief when someone (obviously a drunken uncle) went up on the roof & started rattling sleigh bells just to thrill the little kids. My aunt saw my guffaw & also that I was about to denounce the imposter, so she leaned over & whispered in my ear "let the little ones have some magic".
May we all have some magic this christmas. ~~ D.K.
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