Shared Memories

How cool is it to wake up on Christmas morning and say to your sister, “Let’s go see if  Santa came!” This year one of my daughter’s little sisters, who lives in a different home, was able to come and spend Christmas with us. It was an amazing gift for us all.

On Christmas Eve they came home from a Christmas party and helped set out Santa’s tray with cookies, milk
and carrots for the reindeer. The tray had a pretty sign that said, “Merry Christmas Santa!”

As they were going to bed on their conversation was full of excitement. It went like this:
“Was that a reindeer?”
“No. I think it was Santa’s sleigh.”
“Didn’t you say that we have to be asleep before Santa will come?”
“OK. We’d better go to sleep now.”

In the morning, our daughter woke up and said, “Oh my gosh! It’s Christmas morning! Wake up! Let’s go see if Santa came!”

As they rushed down the stairs to see if there were presents with their names on them, joy radiated through the house. They found a pile under the tree and rushed back up to tell us the good news. Then they rushed back down to check on the stockings. It was 7 AM.

“This is how it’s supposed to be,” I thought as I pulled on my pants and headed downstairs to pour glasses of juice and fix our Christmas morning tray. My husband put on soft Christmas morning music and made a fire in the fireplace while the girls joyfully sorted through the gifts.

When the stage had been set, we each chose a couch and/or chair and took turns opening presents. There was a lots of gratitude in that circle and it stayed with us all day long as we visited additional family members, went to the movies, and dined on Chinese food with friends.

At night we were all ready to climb into bed, read stories, and share Christmas highlights. Each of us had our own special memories. Each of us had a good story to tell. The common element in our stories: siblings. Creating shared memories with them made the holiday truly memorable.