Thinking back

on how my family celebrated Christmas while I was growing up, I wish to

commend my parents for having an incredible amount of patience.

From the minute

the tree went up, my sister and I sang Christmas carols, pointed out every

present we wanted during cartoons, and devoured Christmas cookies by the

metric ton. There is probably still crystallized colored sugar between

the cracks of the floor in our old house.

My father would

allow us to open one present a few days before Christmas to, as he put

it, "make the holiday last longer." One year he placed a pair

of Aerosmith tickets in several envelopes and boxes. Before I reached

the tickets, I thought that my father was giving me a fire detector for

Christmas and started to get upset.

Christmas Eve

was very big for my family. Each year we would head to my grandfather's

house and meet up with the relatives. The adults would mingle together,

most likely expressing sympathy for having to deal with their hyped up

children all month, while the kids would run around and enjoy a night

full of food, presents and fun.

Each year we

would all receive McDonald's gift certificates and digital watches from

one of my uncles. Though it was great to have the watch, it was even better

to be able to go to McDonald's and order and pay for food on your own.

Christmas music

blared throughout the house and eventually my cousins and I would wind

our way through the clouds of perfume surrounding our aunts and find ourselves

outside and caroling on the street. We would dutifully scan the skies

for a trace of Rudolph and his sleigh, even when we had stopped believing.

The party would end soon afterward with some of the younger children falling

asleep on the living room couch.

Though drowsy,

I was amazingly alert when I got home and into bed. My thoughts would

be racing as I would try to figure out how to fall asleep the fastest,

so that I could be awake quickly. I would be listening for the faintest

sound to wake me up at the crack of dawn.

I would rush

to my stocking, dump it out on the floor and go through my terrific bounty.

After my parents woke up, an eternity later, my sister and I could open

our gifts. We would then spend time with the other part of the family,

repeating most of the previous night's activities.

Unfortunately,

I do not get to spend as much time with my extended family anymore. We,

the children, have grown up. Many of us are now married and have started

new holiday traditions with our ever-growing families. As Christmas approaches

each year, I reflect fondly on those times. Each year I remember something

new and hope that I can feel that warm and, heck, there is no other word

for it, jolly again.

Merry Christmas

to you and yours, everybody.

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