Home For Christmas

Okay, so it's not home, but it's sweet and a reminder of the importance of home now and at all times.

Christmas traditions vary from family to family. For years and years the Carroll family would have a Christmas birthday cake and sing happy birthday to Jesus.

One year for Christmas my silly, brainless brother, put a lump of coal in my stocking and that made me very upset. You must be nice to emotional, tender hearted little girls, Charlie.

Many families find Santa have wrapped all their Christmas presents. Guess my parents never heard of that or got passed that word from Santa. Everything was always unwrapped except for a gift from my folks.

I remember looking out a window one Christmas eve and seeing a red light blinking high in the sky. I was really excited as I ran to the kitchen where my folks were sitting and told them I saw Rudolph's nose blinking. (Sadly, we must have been on the approach path for plans landing at the Memphis airport that night.) Oh well. And, yes, Rudolph was a very new song way back then.

And, then there is the memory everyone is tired of hearing about, I feel sure, but must be repeated --- once again about Santa at Stephenson's Chapel Methodist church . We were really young, and Santa made a visit to the church to give out presents. Remember this is still when the world was recovering from World War II (and dinosaurs still roamed the earth) and our gift from Santa was an orange, an apple and a few nuts wrapped in colored tissue paper.

We children, of that era, know how hard times were and we also were given a pair of white anklet socks. We were glad to get that and know that's the best Santa could do that year.

So with Christmas coming remember to pause and think about the traditions you hold precious. What events have happened to you that make you remember Christmas through the eyes of a child?

And, Mary Ann, should you read this, unwrapping the gifts under the tree and re-wrapping them is a memory I still laugh at. Although Ray has never admitted it, I feel sure he did the same thing too....Merry Christmas family!