12/01/2022
It was almost too cold to walk the dog this morning, but we made it over a mile. Hatch has a nice thick winter coat that he wears all year round so I was the only one that was cold. He asked me about my earliest Christmas memory and I stopped to think about it. Here’s the story I told him.
It was Christmas 1969, which seems like another lifetime ago and that was the year I turned seven and it is my first memory of Christmas. My sister Mary gave me a record of the “Chipmonks” which Mom let me play on her record player over and over again. Alvin, Simon and Theodore brought me so much joy that year, especially when Dave would yell, “Alvvvvvin”!
My Mom put up an unusual tree that year, it was an all white aluminum tree with a rotating circular light underneath to create multi-colors to reflect on the high tech tree. I would sit and stare at the colors until bedtime, counting down the days until Christmas.
When Christmas morning finally arrived me and my brothers got up real early to open our presents. My favorite gift that year was a full Indian costume with a stick horse that I could ride. I played in my Dad’s strawberry field for hours on end, pretending I was an Indian.
My first Christmas memory is more than the soundtrack of the Chipmonks and greater than the sights of the aluminum tree. It was the sights and sounds of my family, laughing and talking and loving the Christmas season. Almost all of my family are gone now. Just me and my brother, Russell remain. But those memories are alive and well and still fill my heart with Christmas. Everyday.
