Imerge Magazine dec 2013 | Page 8

When I think of Christmas past I think of my family: we did not always get along, but we did at Christmas. Christmas Eve was magical, the anticipation, the aromas, the wide eyes and expectation. My father was Santa Claus, the man never made a big deal about himself, neither did his chief elf, my mother, but they always made Christmas so special for the rest of us. Christmas began with piles and stacks o presents and ended with piles of wrapping paper that hit the ceiling. When I think of Christmas Present I think of empty chairs—all of those in my family who are gone now, I think of the table that we shared and the loud rambunctious voices that rang out on Christmas Eve and into the morning and my heart aches to see them again. Ever ornament on the tree, every carol I sing, every bite of a cookie or pr line brings their face before me and when the smell of turkey fills th air I celebrate the world’s greatest turkey roaster, feeling like she has filled the house once again. When I think of Christmas Future I think of hopes, dreams, good wil peace, all wrapped up in a ribbon that flows from the hands of the pa and into the hearts of the future letting me know beyond the shadow of a doubt that the same happy ho ho feeling that made Christmas past such a happy place, will go on, and on, and on. Merry Christmas! Kathleen Mary