Christmas Memories

With Christmas just around the corner, I thought I would share some memories from my past.

Christmas at Aunt Peg’s…
This memory is still very vivid in my mind. Even though it happened about 25 years ago. Molly, Hannah, Dean, Michael, Rebecca, Abby, and myself were at Aunt Peggy’s (with our parents of course) for Christmas. My dad and Mary came down from Seattle to spend the holiday with us. I loved being at my Aunt Peggy’s. She made us a gingerbread house. She must have spent hours of decorating it. All of us kids gathered around the dining room table and it only took us three minutes to destroy it. It was awesome! She was the best. I could go on about several memories from that house, but I will just limit it to this one this time.

D.J.’s first Christmas...
My step-dad, Bruce, thought it would be funny to set up the video camera and not tell anyone. D.J. was only a couple months old, so he was on the couch. My mom and Bruce were setting up the Christmas tree. My mom obviously didn’t know about the camera, so she was cussing at the tree. She couldn’t figure out why Bruce was talking under his breath. That was probably the worst tree to ever set up.
Meanwhile, Abby and I were watching the Disney Sing-a-long Christmas video. The entertainment center had a glass panel that we could see our reflection in. Abby and I were both dancing in front of it at various times. Abby was more hilarious than myself. She had some routine that she busted into.
The funniest part of all of this is that we didn’t find this video until years later. We laughed until our stomachs hurt and tears were streaming down our faces. This wasn’t my finest hour, but it is fun to look back on.

The Santa Letter…
I will end with this memory since it just happened last year. My Aunt Kathy lost her brother, Dick, the summer of last year. Christmas was Dick’s favorite holiday. Dick was mentally disabled and still believed in Santa Claus. My aunt would have one of my cousins write Dick a letter every year from Santa. Dick would save those letters in his wallet. It wasn’t Christmas for Dick or any of us until he read his letter.
Knowing that the first Christmas without Dick would be very hard on my aunt, I decided to write her a letter from Santa. It took me a long time to sit down and do it because I couldn’t find the right words. Finally, they came to me. I wrote the letter in less than 15 minutes. I cried through the whole thing. I wanted this to be a surprise for my aunt, so I mailed the letter to North Pole, AK to be canceled. This way she wouldn’t know where it came from. I only told Abby about the letter. I asked her to keep her ear open to anything that was said. When I arrived for Christmas, she still hadn’t heard anything.
We stopped by Uncle Dennis and Aunt Kathy’s house the night of Christmas to visit with them. I spotted the letter in with the Christmas cards. She got it!!! We opened our presents and visited for a bit when I asked Aunt Kathy, “Did you happen to receive a letter from Santa?” She looked at my blankly. She was thinking, “How did Erin know about the letter?” Then she said, “It was you!” Everyone in the room…Michael, Vania, Rebecca, Jim, Candy, and Uncle Dennis were yelling “It was you!” She gave me a big hug and started crying. There were a lot of tears that night. I was able to get the rest of the story of the letter. She and Michael had been out on a walk with Meg when they checked the mail. Michael said that Aunt Kathy yelled his name and started sobbing. She asked if he had done it. Then she called Uncle Dennis and she couldn’t speak so Michael had to get on the phone. Uncle Dennis said he had to close the door of his office after hearing the letter and cry. Aunt Kathy called everyone she knew (except for me or my sister). Some said they didn’t do it and wished they had thought of it, others just took credit for it. I found out that the letter arrived on Dick’s birthday. I had no idea. I believe someone of a higher power had control of that. It couldn’t have been more perfect.
Later that evening, Uncle Dennis sat with me and told me some of the rest of the story. We cried together and he told me “I am so happy it was you.” I laughed. I said, “You are just happy it was a Shanley.” I will never forget about this letter. I was able to give something special to my Aunt after all of the wonderful things she has given to me over the years.
Part of me regrets telling her it was me because I could have kept up the letters anonymously in the years to come. But I am so glad I was able to tell her it was me and seen the look on her face. It was priceless.