Memories of Christmas Past

As Christmas comes it always seems to have you reflecting on the past. You remember as a child and certain memories. The time I got the bike that my brother bought me when he was just 14. He had bailed hay that year and spent most of his hard earned money on my brother and I. The time I lost a pin my other brother had bought me. We think it went out with all the wrapping paper on the floor. Next my stepfather loved Christmas and there were toys and toys and more toys. The time our family had the foster boys and I was a teenager, the living room was half full of gifts. Then when I got married. Joe was from a large family so he was not use to the amount of gifts my family gave. He became a little child again. He loved Christmas and quickly came to celebrate it as my family had for years. It took a few years for him to learn a few lessons. Like: I want several presents, not just one or two. And I do not want things for the house, I want personal items. (Now if I ask for a specific thing for the house that will make my life easier that is okay). And last but not least, you do not have to spend a lot of money to make me happy. It is the thought behind the gift that matters. We always went to my Mom's after the boys had opened their gifts. We had breakfast and met with my sibling's families to exchange gifts. Then we came home and had an open house with buffet type foods. Friends and family would stop by at their leisure. Joe would make sure we remembered Jesus for a moment before the boys dug in under the tree. We filled half the living room when the foster kids came. And now..... well let me just keep remembering Christmas' Past.