Remembering.....

                                                                Photo courtesy of Jake Olsen Studios, Blair, Nebraska

Tonight, I am thinking of my childhood. I always looked forward to Christmas eve at my grandparents home every single year while growing up. My grandma made the best food, and my aunts always brought tons of sweets to nibble on. The biggest treat was the pop my uncle brought. (we didn’t get pop except around Christmastime.)Their house was so small we would divide into different rooms. Men got the living room and played cards, women got the kitchen, girls got grandmas bedroom and boys got grandpas bedroom. It might seem that we were separated but we weren't; we could here everyone's laughter from room to room! We cousins would make a Christmas pageant and sing carols to the grownups before opening gifts. Sometimes, I would sneak outside for a bit in the cold, night air. The snow was crisp and the moon shown down through the trees on their little farm. I would stand there, looking out at the barns; hearing the chickens clucking in their sleep and the cows rustling in their pen. Once in a while you could hear the lone barking of a coyote in the distance. But I wasn’t’ afraid, I had grandpas dogs to keep me safe. I watched that little house, with all the lights blazing and through the quiet, listened to the sounds coming from the house; a mixture of children and adults, laughing and sharing stories. I remember thinking of how much I loved my family and the times we spent there, especially at Christmas. It made me sad to think that someday, we would all grow up, go our separate ways. That old farm is only a memory now. The house has been torn down and my grandparents, and my dad have been gone for a long time. Many of us are scattered across this great country and some of us don’t see each other much anymore. But I go back there to that old farm on Christmas eve every year in my mind…and I am a child again. I feel the warmth and the love of my family. I can hear the laughter and feel the warmth of their love…and once again, I am home.