The Mowry farm, circa 1955
We lived about a quarter mile away from Grandma & Grandpa’s house. And we had to go there on Christmas Eve. I was probably 4 years old.
Didn’t my parents know I had more important things to do on Christmas Eve?
At our house, Santa delivered the presents on Christmas Eve, and we opened them after dinner. Santa had a lot of homes to visit, and we were one of the lucky early deliveries. That’s just the way it was.
But this day, THIS DAY, we had to go to Grandma’s house. That was not my plan. I wanted to be alert for when Santa came to our house. I had just figured it out, you see, that if I just stayed alert, I would get to see Santa bring me my model train. I could meet Santa in my house.
Alert. Vigilant. That’s me.
So we were at Grandma’s, but I spent the whole visit looking out of her bedroom window, keeping an eye on our house so I would see when Santa got there.
Alert. Vigilant. That’s me.
All day, I stared out that window. Hours and hours of tedium.
And when we got back home, wouldn’t you know it, Santa had already delivered my toy train, which was sitting in the middle of the living room. Which was great … but why didn’t I see Santa? I was watching! I was really watching! Santa, how did I miss you?
Merry Christmas!
Yes, Santa drinks Coca-Cola. Well, maybe Diet Coke today … just like me!
