Tradition transition

As children, we grow up in our parent's home experiencing their traditions which are likely to be born from those they remember from their own childhood, and enhanced by touches they have added. I know when I was very young, though my folks didn't have much money, they attempted to make Christmas special for me and my older brothers. As I awoke on Christmas morning, my eyes would be dazzled by the myriad presents I'd see under the tree - and, though there were some gifts for everyone, I, as the youngest in the family, seemed to have the most.

As I grew older and realized that Santa was not behind all the wonderful gifts, I nevertheless realized what magic Christmas held for all. Living with my folks until I was a man, our tradition changed. Instead of having our Christmas present opening on Christmas morning, we would, instead, do this major event on Christmas eve.

The Christmas eve event became more than just an opening of presents for our immediate family. It became a party beginning in mid-afternoon, attended by aunts, uncles, my brothers children, cousins, second cousins, and close friends of our family. There would be food and copious amounts of alcoholic beverages consumed. My father, in particular, reveled in this newly-formed tradition, and long after all but the immediate family had departed, dad would sit in his easy chair, listening to carols, full of Seagram's 7, teary-eyed and sentimental until sleep would finally proclaim enough.

When I married and had children of my own, my bride and I would continue the tradition on Christmas morning, usually after having spent a late evening constructing whatever toys or gifts Santa was bringing to our three young children. We'd wake bleary-eyed Christmas morning when one, or more, of our children would bound breathlessly into our bedroom screaming, "Santa's been here!" Though near exhaustion from too little sleep, we'd get caught up in the excitement of our kids discovery of the array of gifts piled under, and extending in front of the tree. The absolute glee in the faces of your children somehow erases any bit of fatigue you might have.

As our children found out about Santa, the gifts continued - as did the traditions.

Then, as inevitably it must, time changes everything. The kids become adults. They move away. For the first few years they continue to come home for Christmas and things are relatively the same. They bring their new-found loved ones with them. The more the merrier, I say. However, this too changes. The children have either moved too far away, or have obligations of their own and simply cannot come home for Christmas. They are already home.

So, the tradition transitions.

In my case, my bride and I have been blessed in that our first born, our daughter, lives not too far away, with her husband, who is a tolerant soul and generously welcomes his in-laws into his home. The absolute bonus is that our daughter and son in law have also blessed us with our only Grandchild - a boy, now 5 1/2, who is the light of his Grandma's and my life.

For the last several years, we have spent Christmas with my daughter, my son in law, and this remarkable little boy. We've seen our daughter and her hubby spent hours into the night putting together toys for our grandchild much as we did for our kids. But, more importantly, we have watched him experience the magic of Christmas morning, seeing those presents that Santa brought during the middle of the night while he was sleeping. The look on his face and in his eyes, I imagine, is much the same as it was in mine on those Christmas mornings long ago when I was a boy - or in the faces of his mother - my daughter, and his two uncles - my sons, when they all ran screaming into our bedroom to tell us "Santa was here" in a time that doesn't seem that long ago.

There really is nothing quite like that look. Everyone should experience it. It does the heart, mind, and soul good. It truly captures the Christmas spirit. The good news is I suspect that someday my grandson will experience this same look on the face, and in the eyes of his own children, and grandchildren on future Christmas mornings.

And the traditions will continue to transition. That is how it should be.

Old Fart Mike