Christmas Memories

My oh my, how the time flies! In one week, Christmas will be upon us! Where did the days go? Is it me, or are the days going faster? I must be getting old.

As our happy Advent comes to a close, I’ve become nostalgic for all the Christmases that I’ve celebrated over the years. As a kid, I always enjoyed the presents I received and the food I ate. But as I get older and wiser, I’ve started to appreciate other things about the holidays. While I enjoyed those Christmas gifts and toys, those things always faded from memory and end up sitting on a shelf collecting dust.

One of the things I’ve begun to appreciate is the faded memories of wonder. Yes, this sometimes came from the presents I’ve received over the years. I still remember the wonderful books my parents would give me. But other, more ephemeral moments are better because of their rarity. The less of something there is, the more unique it is. One such moment was the one Christmas where I got to experience snow. I was at my apartment in College Station. I got out of the house and walked outside to find that snow had blanketed the grass outside of my apartment white. Most of my family was out of town at the time, leaving me and my brother to enjoy ourselves.

I cannot understate how magical that evening was. There have only been a handful of times in my life I got to experience real snow. I stayed indoors most of the time because it was cold outside, my brother went outside and made a little snowman. Given how it hasn’t snowed in College Station since I graduated, I regret not playing in the snow with him.

There are other moments that, while not as rare as a snowy day in Texas, are rare enough to be a real treat. My favorite part about Christmas is that I get to hang out with all my family. I have a large family, especially on my mother’s side. We go to many Christmas parties each year. These are people that I may not see any other time of the year, so the experience was exceptional.

Besides the one at our house, there were four Christmases that we celebrated with our family – our great-grandparents’, Aunt Lorene’s, and our two grandparents’ Christmas gatherings. Each of them was like a great, big party full of food and games, and all the kids (including my brother and I) were all given presents. Of course, this was only part of the fun. The real fun was all the little moments with all my family members.

My family celebrated Christmas with Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa at the end of the Christmas season. There are a ton of people at these celebrations, more than I could count. This is because my grandmother had four siblings who each had full families of their own. It feels like I see more and more little blonde-haired munchkins each Christmas. The atmosphere that surrounds a large family gathering blankets the place and makes everyone feel comfortable like a hug.

Christmases with Aunt Lorene was also interesting. Like my Great-Grandparents’ Christmases, her Christmases were full of people who I never got to see any other time of the year. She lived next door to my Grandma and Grandpa’s old house in Houston, so all we had to do was walk a few steps from one house to the other. I remember as a little kid how I’d play with my cousins. Most of the time, we’d hang out in the backroom and watch movies on video cassettes. One Christmas, the power went out. That was no problem for the children because the adults allowed us to play with the flashlights. It was probably the best Christmas ever.

After having fun at Aunt Lorene’s, we hang out at my Grandma and Grandpa’s house. Nowadays, they live in Kingwood, so their house is a couple of minutes away from ours. Every Christmas there, we tend to do the same things. Stockings with the names of all the family members names hang in a line on the mantle, filled with goodies. Most of the time, it’s lottery scratch-offs, which we pass around to show whether we won any prizes. Then, it’s time for presents. Always, I sit on the floor to the right of their couch because of how packed their living room is. I love hanging around the family and watching them open their presents.

Christmases with my other grandparents – Nanny and Papa – were a treat. Though Christmases with my father’s side of the family isn’t as big, it’s no less exciting. For instance, last year’s Christmas my cousin announced that she was pregnant, much to the delight of everyone at the party. While most of the time, Christmas with the other Hegwood’s takes place at Nanny’s house, last year’s gathering was at my cousin’s house. But no matter where we celebrate, we’re sure to have a rip-roaring good time!

This year, I fear that Christmas will be diminished. Many older members of my family have died in the past few years, so we no longer have many of the Christmas celebrations. The family members I rarely see have all but disappeared from my life. I fear not being able to see these people as much anymore, and I regret taking them for granted as a kid. While the toys and trinkets one may get may collect dust on a shelf, the beautiful bond between family members is a treasure that should never be put away. So, this year, I plan to enjoy every moment with them. I hope you do the same. Merry Christmas!