Christmas Day 1980

The young boy crept down the stairs, each step he took filled with anticipation. He moved slowly hoping to catch a glimpse of the old man in a red suit. In recent days he kept hearing about the magical person who could somehow come down the chimney and leave presents under the tree. He looked in wonder at the Christmas tree that stood glowing in the room by the fireplace. He hoped to see the stranger and see how he could squeeze into the narrow pipe that came out of the wall from the roof above.

Every step he took he felt for the edge of the stair and eased his way into the basement. He didn’t want to wake his parents and he knew if he woke his sister she would alert the whole house. His Grandparents slept soundly in the spare room and the last thing he wanted was to disturb his Grandpa. The young boy breathed quietly, afraid even the noise when he exhaled would alert his parents.

A loud chime broke the silence, then another. There were three more loud rings that echoed from the old clock on the wall. The boy froze and held the handrail, fear and anticipation competed in his young body as he shook, searching for self-control.

It was five o’clock in the morning and the intrepid child crept ever silently toward the tree. He noticed the stockings first, there was a bulge in the one marked Calvin. The one next to it labeled Gail had something inside of it as well. The door to the fireplace remained shut solid and yet the cookies that sat on the plate in front of it were gone.

Slowly he turned and looked under the Christmas tree. There it was, a shiny bicycle leaning behind the branches of the metal and plastic tree.

The boy had missed the magical man in the red suit. Santa had already been and brought him the gift he had so hoped for. His new bike sat waiting, calling him. He almost burst out and cheered but thought better of it and slowly turned back toward the stairs.

It was going to be very hard to go back to sleep for the next few hours.

The boy lay staring at the race car wallpaper imagining the fun he would have on his new bike. He wondered if he would ever get to see the magic man in the red suit. He wondered how it was possible to be everywhere at once.

He closed his eyes once more.

I opened my eyes to the sunrise peeking into my window. I remembered my dream of simpler days, a dream of a Christmas long ago, a Christmas in a world much different from today.

Now the technological miracles have overtaken the spiritual ones. That innocent boy is only a distant memory in a world overrun by a plethora of things made to make life easier. Even while they have made things more complicated.

This Christmas we connected on zoom, on facetime, and on the phone. We did our best to keep things simple, to keep the meaning of Christmas in our hearts. This Christmas I cherished the smiles and the love of those near and far.

No matter how much things change, Christmas is still about the wonder of a child hoping to catch a piece of magic. That child still exists inside of me and inside us all.

Merry Christmas everyone, stay safe and loved.