The magic of Christmas....

As I woke up in my twin bed, I looked over to my sister. We had no idea what time it was, it was still dark out. She was smiling at me. We jumped out of bed and ran to get John. He was, of course, awake himself sitting in bed. We jumped on his bed to get him hyped as well. "Let's go get Mom and Dad." You see Chrissy and I weren't stupid. John was the baby and treated as such. In order to wake the parents, we needed his sweet face and blond curls.

As my parents begrudgingly got out of bed, we ran downstairs. We all went straight to the tree and started looking at the presents, yelling out, "To John! To Chrissy!!!! To Lani!!!!!!!" The excitement was palpable. As we sat next to the tree barely containing our glee, my Dad would always announce, "Let me get my tea." He would SLOWLY walk to the kitchen smiling the entire way as we children would yell, "COMMONNNNNN." It is and will always be one of my most precious memories. To this day I tell my kids, "Wait, we have to get our coffee."

Christmas now.... I wake up next to my husband and say, "Merry Christmas, Babe." The dogs bound up, ready to be fed. Ken and I walk downstairs, make our coffee, let the dogs out and feed them. As we make our way to the living room, the house is quiet. It has been that way since both children were little. My kiddos love their sleep. They are like their mom in that way. So, without fail, every Christmas morning, we run up and wake them up. Ken and I are always so excited for that magic.

Many this year are dealing with a loss. As I scrolled through Facebook, I noticed a poor mother who lost her baby from her womb. She will mourn her child. I saw another friend who lost their sister days before Thanksgiving. He will mourn her when all are gathered around their tree. Not everyone's Christmas will be magical this year. Some will cry as they wake up and realize that their loved ones are gone, and that is ok. It is understandable.

I want to make sure that I remember the magic. The magic of all three of us waking up as children, running down the stairs together, and celebrating the gifts that we received. Without fail, Christmas morning was filled with love, giving, and excitement. Driving to my Grammy's house Christmas morning to open MORE gifts and having Christmas dinner with the extended family. Sitting at the "kiddie" table with my cousins discussing what we all received. Hearing football playing in the living room while the grown ups passed the food around. Parents yelling from the other room, "John, do you want cranberry sauce???" "Jason, did you want gravy on your turkey?"

This year I challenge everyone to remember when you are excitedly running around Christmas Eve preparing for Christmas day, take a moment and count your blessings. We are able to share our holiday with our loved ones. This life is a gift and every day we get to spend living, it is a blessing. Everything else is just decorations.

As I look forward to Christmas morning I wonder, will John be gathered together with family as I sit down with mine? I hope that he is able to share that day visiting all of us. I know that I will be wishing new friends a Merry Christmas. New friends that I have gained due to his loss and I am thankful for that. I have gained friends that were his. Forged together in our mutual loss.

This year is a bit tougher as all of the prices go up. There won't be as much of a bounty for most. So when you are out, stressing over the number of presents you can buy for your children take a moment and remember, the greatest gift is another day with them. Those are the real presents.

To those that don't celebrate Christmas, think of a special holiday that you do celebrate.... the magic and blessings are there as well.