Every Christmas break is exciting. Who doesn’t love having a break off from school, sleeping in everyday, and celebrating Christmas? It’s always the one thing that you have to look forward to, especially when you are returning from summer break. “How many days until holiday break?” is a question that is always asked. Christmas break with my father was quite an interesting time.
Now, my breaks are always memorable. I can remember almost every Christmas since I was a child. Whether it was building a five foot snowman, or getting stuck in a ditch full of snow when trying to leave a Christmas party, I remember it. I recall being dropped off at my school for rehearsals for the Christmas play, and I even remember what part I played (the sheep). I’ll always remember these little memories.
It was announced one break that my father would be taking his vacation time the same time that my sisters and I had off from school. Naturally, we had mixed feelings about this. Dad being home meant that we would have to clean and actually do something instead of lounging around watching TV all day. But it also meant that he would most likely take us places and we could trick him into taking us out to eat. It was basically a win-win situation.
My father took us to many different places in those two weeks off from school. We all piled into our minivan and my father lugged us around. He took us ice skating, where I saw a few boys that were in my class. One of the boys proceeded to throw a chunk of ice at me. Ah, prepubescent boys. We also went sledding on a huge hill behind our school. We all stood at the top of the hill when my younger sister sat on her sled and flew down the hill at record speed. She was surprised to find a car at the end of the hill and she ran right into it. As my older sister and I laughed at the whole spectacle, my father raced down the hill to make sure she was okay. She was.
That year we decided that we wanted to have a real Christmas tree. We were used to having a small, plastic tree that had bendable “branches.” We were determined to find a beautiful tree that would sit in our small living room. So one afternoon my whole family ventured off to find our tree. Even my mother came along to help pick one out. More, she even came outside to help us hunt for one instead of sitting in the heated car complaining about the cold! Instead of going to a tree farm, we went off into a forest just outside of town. My father brought a saw with him and we all followed him into the woods.
We couldn’t find the perfect tree since we all disagreed. After about a half hour of arguing, we finally decided on one. My father set to cut it down, and had the rest of us hold the tree steady and spot it. He cut into it and after a few minutes the tree cut loose. It fell down and my father tuck and rolled out of the way. We heard feet and looked around. Standing there a few feet away was two police officers.
Apparently, it’s illegal to cut down a tree in the woods. We were stuck talking to the officers for a long time. Surprisingly, we got away with just a ticket. I don’t know how she does it, but my mom is pretty amazing with that stuff. She talked to the officers and they let us off easy.
Random memories like these are the ones I cherish. Small, insignificant, stupid experiences that are tucked away in my mind. Appreciate the time you have with the ones you love, and don’t let your sweetest memories slip away.