A Country Christmas Eve.....

                                                     A Country Christmas Eve

     As a young boy our large family met each Christmas Eve at my Grandparent's home. 

 The standing rule was you may miss other annual family events but you DO NOT miss

 Christmas Eve at Grandma' and Granddaddy's.   

 This is the way I remember it.

Grandma’s Living Room packed so tight that you wondered if we could get anymore

 in, but we always did. 

Cousins, each quietly sitting at the feet of each Mom and Dad as the Bible was read, then songs sang, and presents passed out. 

The Sparkler Dance with it’s hooping and hollering while the parents stood up on
 the porch admiring their claims to fame. 

The un-nerving “pop” of the Black Cats and the brilliant colors of the Roman Candles
 bringing out the Oooo’s and Ahhhhhhs of everyone who was present.

 And then of course the Bottle Rocket War.

All of these things rush back to us immediately.

But do you remember the little things?

The pile of coats so deep on the bed in the  extra bedroom
that you could have lost yourself in them.

Granddad, usually standing over in a corner without much to say but always reaching
out to ruffle our hair  as we passed by to wish him a Merry Christmas.

Grandma ‘s warm smile,  greeting everyone,  her eyes sometimes having to
 search for a hint of “who was who’s”  with one of the Aunts close by
to throw a name if needed.

The ”look but don’t touch” admiring of the new addition to 
Grandma’s Plate collection on the dining room wall.

The smells  of  ham, potatoes,  sugar, cedar, cigarettes,  black gun powder on the tips of each boy’s fingers  and Aunt ….’s. perfume, that lingered long past her passing by.

The introducing of the new cousins, or in later years,
Grandma’s and Granddad’s newest Great Grandchildren.

 Babys screaming and crying from unfamiliar arms holding them until they landed in Grandma’s lap where her gently voice and light rocking turned them into nothing but sugar and spice and everything nice,  if but for only a few minutes.

The welcoming of each “new” member or friend to the family, always a smile, always some kind of reassurance to them that there was nothing to worry about, that we were “just family and would take a little getting used to.”  Each of us giggled as we watched her or him being pushed through the crowd with that “Deer in the Headlights Look.”

I know there are many more memories that I did not catch.

So, let’s not forget the little things, the little memories that are just as important t
o share with our new members of the family.

From Our Part of The Family

 To You and Yours

Merry Christmas Eve

Johnny