My Christmas As A Child

I remember as a kid, I loved Christmas. We never had many gifts . There were six of us kids. Each year, we got a box of oranges and a bottle of pepsi. Mrs. Clause also hid a box of candy somewhere in the house. It was usually behind the couch. Even though we did not receive many gifts, I still loved it because the Christmas Spirit was strong in our home.

We always popped a huge pan of popcorn and strung it up on twine to put on the tree. We than took pieces of paper and cut out stars and such to put on the tree. We always had a live tree. We would all go out in the meadow and together, we would choose our tree. We always did things as a family. I was the oldest so I remember those days a little better than the rest of the kids do.

Today, we still all gather at Mom and Dad’s for Christmas afternoon. A time is never set as we all just seem to arrive with our families, sometime in mid afternoon. I love the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. I learned at an early age that the important things cannot be purchased with money.

I have heard a saying “You can never get enough - of things you don’t need” I have seen many people who think that money and the things that money can buy will make them happy. Although it never does. I think that is because we don’t really need those things. So when we purchase them, they don’t give us true happiness or peace in our lives.

We were raised in a home with love but not much in the way of possessions. I remember that there were mornings when our feet would stick to the floor when we got out of bed. I remember having to sleep with large pans on the bed to catch the rain as it leaked through our roof. I remember tacking cardboard from boxes to the walls to insulate us from the wind. We had no insulation at all and you could see outside through the cracks. The cardboard helped a lot. I remember hanging homemade quilts over the doorways to keep the heat in the living room so we had one room that was warm. Yet with all these memories, one might thing I would be bitter but I am not. I learned a lot by living simply and by being self sufficient. I am actually thankful for the lessons and hard work that I had as a child. It has made me the person that I am today. I have learned to work hard and care for others. I have learned that money does not buy happiness.  By society's standards, we were very poor. Society was wrong though. We may not have had money but we had something more important. We had a family and we loved each other and we supported each other. We were happy. That is what I wish for everyone in the world, is to be really happy.

I love the Spiritual part of the holidays. I am thankful for the fact that Jesus is an important part in my life. I have found pure peace. I have lots of problems but I am better at dealing with them than I once was. Life is too short to not be with family for the holidays. Being with family makes me happy. Seeing our grown daughters act like children when they come home for Christmas makes me happy. Our family is a very close family and that makes me happy.

I am very fortunate. I have a roof over my head. I have food on my table and I have a family that loves and cares for me. That is why I have such a happy life. It is true happiness that money can not purchase. It has to be worked for with love and kindness.

I hope each of you will find happiness and peace in your lives over the holiday season. I hope you have a wonderful peaceful spirit in your homes. I wish each of you a very merry Christmas.