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| Merry Christmas from AMI! |
Wow! Here we are again, another Christmas is right around the corner. Not that I'm keeping score but this will make the 58th one for me and as best as I can remember they've all been pretty special in their own unique way. Even the one way back when I was in my early teens and mom decided that we would have our big family meal and open our presents on Christmas Eve. This was a slap in the face to tradition and traditions just aren't something to be taken lightly. I can't really remember the rationale behind this big change but I do remember that we woke up Christmas morning and didn't have a clue what to do. It made for a really long day and we decided early on that morning that it would never happen again and it never did.
Mom and Dad have been gone for quite a few years but the memories of Christmas with them remain special. Mom took care of the inside of the house which was always decorated very festively. Dad was the master of the outdoor display. He took great pride in winning the "Best Decorated House in Mulberry" several times. Now even though it was Mulberry it may have well as been New York, LA or Chicago. He couldn't have been any prouder.
Compared to some of the technology used in Christmas displays these days they were pretty primitive but I do remember he rigged up a rocking chair somehow so a big plastic Santa would rock back and forth all night long. He was a man ahead of his time in many ways, especially when it came to decorating for Christmas.
My earliest memories of Christmas morning were actually more in the middle of the night. My two older brothers would coax me into going in and seeing what was under the tree, assuring me that I wouldn't get caught. Some how even being as quiet as I possibly could be mom and dad would hear me and yell at me to get back in bed.
After a pretty sleepless night for everyone (thanks to my brothers forcing me into devious behavior) Christmas morning would officially start after mom, dad and my grandmother (Nannie Aultman) were up and in the living room. We three boys would finally be allowed to come in and the good times would start rolling. Once my two brothers were grown and out of the house I figured out that I didn't have to try to sneak into the living room in the middle of the night to get a peak. I only had to open the trunk of mom's car. We had a silver Chevrolet Caprice that was something akin to a tank and had a trunk that I think could have easily held dad's Volkswagen Beetle.
Coolest present ever as a kid, that's an easy one; a black and silver Schwinn Sting Ray 10 speed bike. I could almost get that sucker airborne. Looking back now obviously that bike was just a bike and the real present was family.
Then there were the middle teen years when I had to act too cool to show I really cared about all that Christmas stuff. Thankfully mom and dad saw right through that little charade and still made every one of them special in spite of me being pretty butt headed. Although I probably didn't tell them as much as I should have I'm so thankful they kept the traditions of Christmas alive and going strong through the "rebellious years". I think during this time they were praying, "Lord help him and send him a wonderful woman". It happened and they lived to see me marry Beth. Thankfully they even had a few quality years with Ben and Sarah.
This will be my thirty fifth Christmas that Beth and I will be celebrating as husband and wife. Throw in a half dozen or so more years of dating and there seems to be a trend emerging of Christmas's spent with Beth and boy have they been great!
Her family traditions are very similar to ours so there wasn't a real "learning curve" that either of us had to go through as we joined forces. We enjoyed many early Christmas mornings with NaNa and PaPa which were filled with laughter and excitement. There would always be Ben and Sarah's cousins Scott, Kyle and Kimberly in the fray, along with Beth's siblings and their spouses. Later in the day there's a big gathering of Beth's extended and very close knit family. These celebrations I'm happy to say are still going strong and are usually held at her Uncle Dick and Aunt Phyllis's house in Winter Haven although on a few occasions they have been moved to Palmetto.
Once we had the kids I used to watch in amazement, amusement and humble appreciation at how meticulous Beth's preparation would be every year. She would search out, lay out and compare to make sure that everything was perfect and that it was equal. If Sarah had five presents wrapped and three under the tree you can bet Ben would have the same thing. I have to admit I didn't think they compared that closely but in later years they both confessed that they did compare closely to see if there was any evidence that we loved one more than the other. I think they've figured out we love them both the same, but we still keep the gifts balanced!
We packed up and moved to Texas when Ben was starting kindergarten and Sarah was just over one year old but Christmas was always spent in Florida and Beth was always going to make sure it was special. It really didn't matter if it was a basketball goal for Ben or a doll house with about a million pieces and those most feared words "some assembly required". The gifts were going to come to Florida to be assembled for Christmas morning even if it meant taking them apart and reassembling it once we returned after the holidays. I'm still not sure how Ben didn't see that basketball goal in the van between him and Sarah as we drove all night but he swears he didn't! I think it's fair to say and I believe they would agree that thanks especially to Beth their Christmas mornings were always super special.
Now we do have one Christmas tradition that is a little unique. In the thirty four Christmas's that we have enjoyed together as husband and wife we have spent practically no time in our own house. If I did the math right 34 Christmas's equals 816 hours of Christmas. Of the 816 hours we have probably spent no more than 6-8 hours in our own house on Christmas day. It didn't matter if we were living in North Carolina, Florida or Texas we would always be at my parents, Beth's parents or in recent years Beth's sister and her husband's house (thanks Cindy and Drew). Coincidentally Drew has been a good friend of mine since elementary school! As a matter of fact, it's only been in recent years that we've spent any time in our house on Christmas. That's because we have flown back to Texas on Christmas night. Not a chance this year since we no longer own a house and the way we're enjoying this new part of the journey we may never own another house.
So here we are less than a week away from another big day and I'm excited because this Christmas is going to last for a while. Plus there is going to be a new and very special present under the tree this year. Here's what's happening; Ben is flying down and will be with us here in Florida for a few days. He's flying back on the 27th and we are heading out from here to Fort Smith on the 29th to see Sarah, Joey and that extra special present under the tree this year, Sweet Baby James! Ben is going to be joining us on January 1st in Fort Smith and while it won't be for long we will all be together for a bit of time and that's as good as it can get!
Now about that picture. A few years back while I was laying in a hammock on some beach somewhere I had the brilliant idea to take a picture of my feet with the crystal clear water in the background. I was so proud of my photographic effort that I decided to send it to my colleagues back at the hospital who were working tirelessly. The photo was quickly and well received by all of them. I received immediate and encouraging feedback like "jerk", "I hate you" and "those are some of the narliest feet I've ever seen"!
After that what else could I do except send them an occasional picture similar to that first one many years ago, just from a different location. They probably have a collection of about 20-25 pictures, including the one above sent directly to their work e-mail. Always narly feet and always water in the background, just a little extra decorations in this one!
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| Sweet Baby James and his wonderfully awesome parents! |
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| Paddleboarding is much nicer in 76 degrees!
Here's two of my favorite Christmas youtube video's. Sarah sent me the first one several years back and I've watched it every year at Christmas since then. The end always brings a tear to my eye..............this getting old and sentimental is a challenge sometimes!
This one is funny!
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