Nathan Exposed » Christmas In January

I wrote this post at the end of November 2007, and felt it was too early for Christmas posts.

Now it’s almost the end of January 2008, and I just came back across it.

Should I hold on to it for 12 months or publish it now? Oh what the hell… I’m unconventional and I play by my own rules. So here it is, a Christmas post in January.

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It’s a bit early, but I’m watching Dr. Seusses’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas on TV. I used to love this cartoon. Watching it brings back all the memories of childhood.

Christmas in Illinois was almost always guaranteed to be a white one. On Christmas eve, my parents would drive me and my two brothers to Grandma and Grandpa’s farm in the country. We’d gather around the Christmas tree, and Grandma would hand out gifts. She always had homemade candy in individual tins, each with its own Christmas design. One can had peanut brittle. I hated the peanuts, but I liked the sugary brittle part. So I’d nibble off the sweet part and put the peanuts back in the tin can. Gross, I know.

The adults would play board games while my cousins and I compared stories about Santa Claus. It’s such a great feeling of joy that children have on Christmas. A little bit of magic mixed with sheer excitement. If only you could bottle that emotion and keep it forever.

That night, back at home, I’d go to bed, hardly able to sleep because I was anticipating Santa’s visit. I tried to fight sleep, determined to stay awake long to catch a glimpse of him. But eventually sleep won over.

I would wake up at 5AM, before anyone else in the house. As I crept down the stairs and looked under the tree, I saw that Santa had already left. There were even a few crumbs left in a plate to prove he’d stopped by…

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[Apparently I didn’t finish the post either, but you get the overall feeling of it. Merry Christmas!]