One of the memories I have a Christmas as a child was the year when I received a sled for Christmas and my sister received a bicycle. That year was unusually warm and a sled wasn't usable because there was no snow. At the time I had requested the sled I was thinking that there would be snow to use that sled just like there had been snow all of the other Christmas days that I could remember. Needless to say I wasn't very happy.

However my sister was out riding her new bicycle while I was pining and wishing for snow. It wasn't fair that Santa would pull such a nasty trick on me. Why wasn't there snow to ride my bicycle down the hill? My sister was having fun and all I could do was sit on my sled wishing for snow.

I eventually was able to use my sled and had many years of fun but I sure was upset on Christmas day. It is often amazing what things one remembers about their young years.

Leave me a comment and tell me about something that upset you with your Christmas gift.

Earnie
(C) 2006 - All rights reserved.

The title of a good movie but as I get older there i"s no w"ay I like that white icy flake. But when I was young I enjoyed it and it made for some pleasant memories. When I was young I lived in the mountains of West Virginia and sledding was a natural thing to do when it snowed. I remember even sweeping the coal cinders from the road to make the sledding more fun. But now, the cold make the joints ache and falling down hurts more. So what is an aging person to do when they need to please their young ones?

When I think of a White Christmas I think of a nice warm beach with the white foam of the sea splasing against the shore and spraying my face with its cool mist. I think of the good times I used to have in the snow and think of the pleasant memories of snow ball fights behind snow forts. I think of the fun of sledding down the hill I used to have and want to give my young ones that same pleasure. All of these thoughts give me good feelings of a White Christmas.

Leave a comment telling me your thoughts of a "White Christmas".

Earnie
(C) 2006 - All rights reserved

The excitement, the joy, the wonder, the warmth of home, the love and cheer to me is what is wrapped up in the memories of Santa Claus. Very young children are often afraid of this stranger in a Red Suit with a white beard that looks different, strange and bewildering. Eventually our children learn to be excited about meeting Santa Claus because of the expectations of what Santa will be bringing them. Then we must break their hearts as they become older and let them know that this magical character isn't really a person living at the North Pole.

How we tell our children that what they have believed with all of the hearts and with all of their trust that Santa is just pretend can affect them either negatively or positively. The excitement and wonder of Christmas doesn't need to end with the truth about Santa Claus. Santa Claus just needs a change of address and a change of understanding that Santa Claus even though is pretend as a man in a Red Suit living at the North Pole is actually really a real person who cares and loves them very much. That person of course is us, their parents, and they already love us and we love them and that love will never end.

My memories of Santa Claus are good and I don't remember being affected by the fact that he was pretend. Every year I expected Santa to visit and leave presents for me and my siblings. Your children should expect that as well, just as mine do.

Leave a comment and tell me how you feel about Santa Claus. Does he still have a warm place in your heart?

Earnie
(C) 2006 - All rights reserved.