I remember a particularly snowy Christmas that I am particularly fond of.
“Beep beep beep beep beep,” the alarm woke me up.
“It’s Christmas,” I thought to myself. I jumped out of bed and rushed down the stairs. To my surprise my younger brother, Tony, was already opening his gifts.
“Hey, look who decided to finally get up,” my mother said to me.
I smiled back at her and proceeded to head to my corner of the tree. I remember that year we had a giant live pine. The smell permeated the room, filling it with the scent of Christmas.
My gifts were always stacked up in a neat pile; the variety of colors and different bows delighted my senses. I couldn’t choose which one to open first. Should I open the very top one or grab one at random? I stood there for a while contemplating my decision.
“Choose one already,” Tony said, jokingly.
I grabbed the one on top and sat down by the fireplace. With the heat to my back, I began to violently rip off the paper.
“Sweet! A baseball glove!” I exclaimed. I showed off my new glove to my brother, who smiled back at me.
After a while, the rest of the family started to arrive. Grandma and Grandpa were always early to family events.
Grandpa used to say in his raspy voice, “ You have to be early, because you never know what you might miss.”
Grandma brought the same dish every single Christmas; Her famous green bean casserole and cherry pie. I always had to take seconds of her pie, which was fine because she always brought way more than enough.
The rest of the family trickled in throughout the rest of the afternoon—aunts, uncles, cousins, the list went on. Everyone came to our house for Christmas—this is where the party was.
The smell of Christmas filled the house to the brim.
It was as if all of the windows were going to pop out. My mother, who had been cooking all day long, told us that it wouldn’t be too much longer now.
The family started to take their seats as the food began to fill the table. The room came to a loud roar as the conversations bounced back and forth around the room. Aunt Mildred and Aunt Colleen were gossiping about the latest Hollywood scandal. Uncle Rufus and Rick were arguing about what team would be going to the Super Bowl this season. There was the occasional giggle from one of the younger members chasing one another around the house.
Silence filled the air when my mother finally walked out of the kitchen with the turkey. I remember everyone’s mouths dropping to the floor. Gosh, my mother was a darn good cook.
Everyone filled their plates, and the laughter and festivities carried on into the night.
Cole McGruff
Contributing Writer