I was thinking earlier today about some past christmas things and i thought I’d share a few memories with both of y’all. Every year we would go out and cut a fresh tree (Hippies: Shove it.) And we’d bring it back home, set it all up and decorate it together. It’s been a family thing for as long as I can remember. A couple of years I set up a model train around the base of the tree. I also remember that every year I’d take a couple of ornaments, and get down on the floor, and climb under the tree, and hang some all the way at the bottom. I always liked that, for some reason.

One year when I was in Grade 8 or so I really wanted this little musical keyboard (A Casio SK-1 for those who are interested.) and it had this amazing sampling ability (this is going on 18 or so years ago, remember), where you could hold down a button and talk or sing or something and it would record the sound. Then you could play it back. I wanted it pretty badly, and made sure that my parents knew it.. I showed them, left the Sears catalog open to the page where it was and so on.

Christmas day rolls around and we’re all sitting around, and we would take on epresent, give it out, wait to see them open it, etc… (Except the little ones, who pretty much just tore into everything.) Presents come and go, and I get a bunch of stuff, but no keyboard. Finally everything was done and some time later, I’m sitting with my mom, watching all the kids play and stuff, and I told my mom something to the effect that it was OK that I didn’t get what I asked for, and everything was still great. My mom then went over to this large chest that we had in our living room and pulled out a large parcel. Need I finish?

I have vague memories of when I was 4, getting up ultra early, tearing open some gifts (no clue which ones were mine) and then, informing my mom when she got up “I opened mine already.” I do distinctly remember that not all the gifts were mine, so i only opened a few.

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