A couple of years ago, a good friend of ours gave me a set of Santa coffee cups with matching plates. They are adorable, and I get them out the Friday after Thanksgiving. They rest in a wrought iron holder on my kitchen counter and I enjoy my morning Joe with Santa winking at me.
This year, as I was sipping my favorite brew, I began to reminisce about Christmases gone by. Though I love each and every moment of each and every Christmas, there are some memories that stand out as amazing. This year, for many and varied reasons, will remain one of the strangest and most wonderful of them all. In the middle of the pandemic that has brought so much sadness, so much grief, and so much isolation, we received one of the best gifts of our whole lives – a new baby grandson.
It’s been a long time since I had a baby to hold. Over 30 years ago, in fact, when Matt and I first held our own little one and gaped in wonder at this miracle in a tiny babe. I fell in love right away, just as I did this year. Watching our son grow was a delight. We saw him become an inquisitive and sensitive boy, then a caring and patient young man, and now a father himself. Those wonderful years of family games, meals, trips, and adventures seem to be just a little while ago, but decades have passed. I’m thrilled to have the chance to be part of another little life as it grows.
Six years prior to that Christmas, I married the man of my dreams. He’s still pretty dreamy, too, and we’ve had so much fun and so many adventures. He always surprises me at Christmas time, which is no easy feat. He has to work twice as hard, too, because our anniversary is just three days before Christmas Day. I remember telling him when picked our wedding date that it was contingent upon, “NO merging of gifts!” I didn’t want to get “one big gift” to commemorate both events. He’s done very well on both counts, that’s for sure. Probably the most memorable gift of all, though, is the book of matches he gave me for our very first Christmas together. You might think this a strange gift, given that I am a non-smoker, but when you see the attached note, you’ll think it’s pretty cool, as well.
Whenever people talk about “favorite” Christmas gifts, I tend to drift back to my childhood. Most folks likely do. The year I was seven years old, I spent Christmas in the hospital. I had chronic nephritis, which is a severe inflammation of the kidney. According to my mother (who may have been prone to a bit of exaggeration from time to time), they were on the verge of removing one of my kidneys, since they couldn’t find the source of the infection that was causing the trouble. Turns out, I had an abscessed tooth, and once that was addressed, the nephritis disappeared. Thanks goodness! However, all this drama (which likely caused my parents great distress) was lost on me. My biggest concern was whether or not Santa would come to a hospital. How would he know where to find me?
But find me he did and thus I received an unasked for, unexpected, absolutely fabulous gift – a doll as big as me that could walk and blink her eyes. When I awoke on Christmas morning, she was lying in the bed next to me! And yes, through many moves to college, apartments, homes, and even states, she has remained with me. I never did name her – I couldn’t decide between Cathy or Sally. But she has been a faithful friend and confidante.
Her hair is a little worse for wear, and her pink and white dress is pretty thin – so our son, when he was about six – dressed her in his old Spiderman jammies. It seems to suit pretty well.
Maybe Cathy (or Sally)’s arrival in the hospital is why I never fully let go of my belief in Santa. Over the years, Santa has come to mean to me any miracle that happens. My life has been a series of miracles – small, unexpected gifts that have steadied my world and steered my path. Meeting and marrying my husband, having a child, and now having a grandchild – these are truly miracles.
So I’m sipping my coffee as Santa winks at me, as if to say, “Sure, 2020 was strange. But there’s more, Susie. There’s more. Just be patient.”
Merry Christmas to you all! I pray for each of you to find your miracles this Christmas and in the coming year.
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