Another Christmas tree in the bag

It’s hard to believe, but another Christmas has come and gone. It comes so slow but it goes so fast. I guess I’ll never understand This Christmas was probably the most unusual I have ever experienced.

When I was young, I remember those first Christmases; they were so slow to get here. I think during the week leading up to Christmas, every day they gained at least 10 new hours. When Christmas Eve came around, I was so exhausted waiting that I didn’t know what to do.

I don’t remember my first Christmas because I was only five months old at the time. It’s hard for me to remember those early Christmases, but I’m sure they were times of fun and joy. There were no cell phones at the time, so I don’t have selfies to show.

The day after Christmas the kind lady of the parsonage and I were sitting around the Christmas tree drinking our morning cup of coffee. Looking at the tree brought back many memories for both of us. My memories are lost than hers, but after all, it’s the memory that counts.

In our stage of life, we are in what is called the empty nest stage, and the house is very quiet. Reflecting on this, I couldn’t help but remember that some of those Christmases were so loud and energetic that I didn’t think Christmas Day would ever end.

Before Christmas in our house it was quite interesting. The kind lady of the parsonage puts everything together, and has a plan for everything.

I remember a year trying to help her, and I got in her way. Not only that, but I dropped a couple of Christmas tree ornaments and they broke. To this day, I have never made up for it.

As we were sitting around the Christmas tree, I remembered a Christmas when I was quite young. This would have been hundreds of years ago, I’m sure. That Christmas my father bought me a Daisy Red Ryder air pistol as a gift. Those were the days when something like this happened.

Never in my life was I so happy with a Christmas present. I can’t be sure how many boxes of BBs I spent that first month of having it. Nothing was more exciting for me than going out and shooting my air pistol at anything.

I certainly long for those good times when you could be a man regardless of age or youth. A compressed air pistol was a huge advantage at the time.

I must confess that my air pistol was confiscated for the first few days after Christmas. For some reason I’m still not sure today, I wasn’t supposed to shoot any windows in the house. I think, if I remember correctly, there were three windows that I shot during that episode.

Not only was my air pistol confiscated, but there was a Christmas beating that accompanied it. I can almost feel the spanking today.

When I got my air pistol for Christmas, no one told me there were certain things I wasn’t supposed to shoot. It wasn’t my fault that I shot a window. It was my parents’ fault for not telling me not to shoot at a window. However, they weren’t interested in why I shot the window, just that I shot the window.

In a couple of weeks I got it back and was very careful what I shot from then on. I remember having a great time with it. He just wished he had that air pistol now. I often wondered what happened to that air pistol.

I chuckled as I told my wife the story of my air pistol.

Try as I might, I never received a similar story from my wife. I know there were several, but I could never get her to acknowledge that truth. Of course, she knows that if she had that kind of information she could use it to my advantage.

What I have discovered about wives is that they talk a lot but they know when not to talk. When it comes to husbands, they don’t talk much, but they never know when not to talk.

Admiring our Christmas tree this year was a very special moment. In a week or so that tree would be taken down, the ornaments packed up, and the tree would be placed back in the attic where we keep it. However, while I was up, it was wonderful to think of all the activities that happened around that tree.

Of course, over the years, we have replaced that tree several times. But it is the thought that really matters. All the wonderful stories that come from that tree certainly rejoice our hearts. We spent time talking about the gifts we gave and the gifts we received.

As we were reminiscing, I was reminded of a scripture verse that has encouraged me.

“I have shown you all things, how you should work like this to support the weak, and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said: It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

It is not what you get that really matters, but what you give and the reason behind that giving.