By Sherri Blevins
The older I get, the harder it becomes to remember what happened yesterday, let alone several years ago. However, there are those memories that stay with you for a lifetime.
Christmas, when I was a girl, consisted of overnight visits from my sister and brother along with their families, Christmas dinner in the dining room served on my mother’s Franciscan Desert Rose China plates and serving dishes, tea or my favorite drink, Coke, served in the fancy glasses reserved only for that occasion, and laughter-lots and lots of laughter. Along with all this excitement, my nieces and nephews would camp out with me in the dining room on the green and silver sectional we pulled apart to make separate beds. Sleeping only occurred for a few hours because we were counting the minutes until we were allowed to get up and see what Santa had left us.
When it comes to Christmas presents, I have forgotten most of what I received as a child. There were a few special presents I will never forget. When I was six, I wanted to be a cowgirl. I couldn’t believe my eyes on Christmas morning when I zoomed into the living room and spotted a red and white cowgirl suit covered in long fringe along with a red and white cowgirl hat, and of course two sparkling silver guns, holster included. A girl couldn’t ask for any more. One of my favorite presents, however, was one I received from my father. He carried me to Scott’s Jewelers in Fort Payne, -no longer there- and allowed me to select a “real birthstone ring”. I felt soooooo grown-up and soooooo loved because it was a gift from my daddy. I still treasure the trips I had to Fort Payne with my daddy to go to the bank or run some sort of errand. He made me feel so special.
My dad passed away when I was eighteen which changed the way I viewed holidays for a few years. They became a little harder to get excited about because something just seemed to be missing from the family get togethers. Another man came into my life, and in 1981 he became my husband- Monk Blevins. We started our own traditions along with continuing the old ones. Most of the time he was really good about choosing Christmas presents. One particular year was an exception to that rule. I was eight months pregnant with our first child. I was not feeling particularly attractive and was in need of a little extra encouragement. My loving husband, in attempt to help me out, bought his very pregnant wife a treadmill for Christmas. When I received it, I tried to hide my shock at the message I thought he was sending, but I don’t remember being successful. I had to forgive him, though, because he did mean well after all.
With parenthood came the added responsibility of becoming “Santa’s helper”. On this particular Christmas that I remember, my children asked Santa Claus for a swing set. Santa could not fit the swing set in his sleigh preassembled; therefore, it was the responsibility of the parents to assemble the swing set before Christmas morning. Santa had made arrangements with my sister to drop the package off early at her house to prevent little eyes from seeing it before it was time. This meant, not only did my husband and I have to transport the pieces on a trailer in the dead of night in freezing cold weather, we also had to put it together with only a flashlight to light the way. In the middle of the process, we discovered Santa had left out a few essential screws needed to complete the assembly process. Not to be outdone, my fearless husband scoured his mighty tool chest and found a suitable replacement for the missing parts. The only real problem with the whole assembly was we mistakenly put the slide on backwards. Oh well, the children were excited when they saw it the next day, and we were forgiven.
Now, my children are all grown and married, and I have five wonderful grandsons that I get to watch experience the anticipation, excitement, and joy of Christmas morning. Christmas once again has changed with new traditions being added and other traditions fading away. I have found that over the years, no matter what is going on in my life, Christmas can always be a time of joy, excitement, and anticipation, if I keep my mind focused on the perfect gift of the season. That is the gift God sent to us so many years ago in the form of a little baby, Jesus. If Jesus is the main focus of our Christmas season, we will always find something to be excited about, no matter the circumstances around us. Jesus offers us the forgiveness of our sins and the gift of eternal life. That is the best gift of all.