The smell of Christmas cookies coming from the kitchen, the sound of laughter as family and friends gather in the living room. For some reason I can hear the sound of boys and men yelling to cheer on their favorite football team. Christmas is the time when everyone gathers around to share their most memorable memory of Christmas. All the kids can’t wait to open their gifts. For my family, Christmas time is the biggest on Christmas Eve.
Why am I dreaming of Christmas in November? Well Christmas with my family is when we all get together and dance. This is the way I remember Christmas. El Paso, Texas is where I am from, and growing up here is something out of the ordinary. Families elsewhere enjoy Christmas Eve dinner with turkey, ham, and all the fixing you need to complete the meal. As a Hispanic, things are a little different. In my family, there is no such thing as a quiet dinner. There are a handful of kids running around the house and the sound of Mexican music coming from the old boom box.
I remember when I first took my wife over to Texas, she thought people were fighting. The truth is, we were just trying to have a conversation with one another. She felt so overwhelmed because this Christmas was nothing like she experienced. She would always tell me that she wanted to bake cookies and have hot cocoa; well we were baking, but not cookies. Instead of baking cookies we were frying bunuelos, which are delicious when you put sugar on them. She was just taken by the kids running around, and her eyes were wide when she saw the gifts under the tree. This tree was big and covered with ornaments from the past and present. As she turned to look at the walls, all of the stocking were hanging with each having their own design.
My family is one that loves to bring new people in on Christmas. Little did my wife know at the time, but she had a stocking of her own that the little ones decorated for her. She never expected my family to make her feel like one of us. As the night progressed music was blasting from the living room and aunts, uncles, and even grandparents were dancing the night away. You can only sense that midnight was around the corner and it was time to tear up the wrapping paper to see what Santa brought this year.
Five, four, three, two, one and it’s time to open gifts. “Wait!” yells my mom. We forgot, before we open the gifts, it is time to give thanks and say a prayer. This is a tradition that has been in my family since I was a little boy. Family makes a big circle and holds hands. We bow and pray.
Time to open gifts and off they go opening gifts. Everyone laughing taking pictures saying thank you, I just sit back a smile. Through this whole memory it is always great to come back to see family. I am active duty air force and never miss a Christmas. When I do come home it is always great to have everyone together, because every day I am thankful for my family. This year is special, because now me and my wife have a little one of our own to spoil. Maybe next year I will write about my greatest memory being my sons first Christmas. I guess I know why I was dreaming of a white Christmas in November.