I love memories

I love sharing memories, I am sure that my meme proves that ;-)  I come from a long liine of memory lovers.  I remember hearing the stories of old from my grandparents and my parents, I even remember asking for repeats often of my favorites!!  I even remember the few memories that I don't have because I was way too sick to enjoy making any.  That is the subject of today's Memory Lane.

I don't remember specifics (which is typical, I was quite the "live-in-the-now" sort of personality as a kid), but there was a Christmas in high school when I was too sick to care about Christmas.  That is crazy, wicked sick, let me tell you! 

Growing up we had Christmas Eve traditions.  We would go to our Eve service at church, we got to open one gift from an out-of-town relative, and then we would run around the house, in the dark, playing hide and go seek.  It was awesome!!  Christmas morning we would gather around while my dad read Luke 2 from the blue bible I think he has always owned.  It has a cut out cross on the cover.  Then my father would blast "Joy to the World" on first the reel-to-reel, then later he found it for purchase on CD.  Then our frenzied present ripping would commence. 

My father and mother are also super creative!  When we were getting a big gift, my father would create a scavenger hunt, or whatever they are called, so that I had to open a series of envelopes hidden around the house with clues guiding me to the present.  I loved it!! 

This creativity was carried into my sister's gift giving as I had to open a series of boxes starting with a large one, down to the tiny tube of lipstick I had been wanting.

Not to be outdone, my husband also will scheme and plan, getting me that perfect gift I have been BEGGING for, all the while convincing me we just can't afford such a thing right now.  I run the gamut of emotions, including anger, until I unwrap the much wanted gift and have to eat much crow ;-)

Yet I still remember the 2 Christmases that I was just too sick to form any memory.  I do remember my mother coming to walk me to the living room, still wrapped in my quilt, because we did Christmas as a family growing up, and family was going to be there... just in case I could remember something.  I love that about my mother and father.  (ok, I love that now)

The other 'sick' Christmas was the year we had just been too busy to go get the flue shots.  We drove the 10 hours from Kentucky to Iowa for a big old family Christmas only to become sick as dogs with my 2 little children.  We huddled in the guest bed together and slept several days away.  All the while my husband, who was smart and got his shot, played computer games and got together with his brother.  It was horrible.

I hope you all have some wonderful Christmas memories!  Even better if you want to link in and share them with us!! 

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Be sure to drop my button in your post so other can join in the fun, you must be participating to link up.  All drive by linkers will be deleted.  This week, leading up to Christmas, I will leave the link open for a few days instead of the normal 24hrs.