View from the Cab: Merry Christmas to all
By Kent Casson
I credit those past Christmases of jumping out of bed at 3:30 a.m. with my ability to rise and shine so early these days for a radio show.
My brother and I would wake up extremely early Christmas morning to see what Santa brought us. Though we couldn’t open the presents at that early hour, we enjoyed shaking the packages trying to guess what was inside. Was it that brand new Ertl toy tractor or perhaps a cassette player?
We would go into Mom and Dad’s bedroom about five or six times prior to sunrise trying to wake them so we could open presents. They’d of course say, “go back to sleep for a while.” Though it was hard to wait, we managed to catch a glimpse of our stocking stuffers and start eating that Christmas candy to get us by until breakfast.
I think we even fell asleep in the couch one time from waking too early and waiting too long to open presents. Then, daylight would finally come and we could rip open those packages. Our parents would take their seats in the living room while we made a mess of torn wrapping paper on the living room floor.
Mom would then head into the kitchen to start that pot of coffee for the day and make us breakfast before our day of holiday celebrations got underway. I recall Mom’s Christmas fine china she only got out during the holiday season. We even drank coffee out of some fancy mugs – even if it was for only one day out of the year.
While I may not recall all of the presents received under the tree during Christmases past, I do remember the special memories made with family. That is one thing we are continuing with our kids and making our own new holiday traditions every year.
After returning home from church on Christmas Eve, it is always fun to watch our three kids open their new Christmas pajamas before leaving a few cookies out for Santa before bed. They even sneak a few bites of the sweet treats.
So far, the kids haven’t gotten us out of bed at 3:30 a.m. like I did with my parents in the old days but they are still up fairly early. We all get out of bed to see what Santa brought and capture all of the moments on video. Then, it’s off to Rebecca’s parents house for brunch and my parents’ place for a late lunch and more presents.
I certainly hope each and every one of you have a very Merry Christmas and joyous New Year. May we all reflect on the blessings of the past year and look ahead to new beginnings in 2024.
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