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The Changing of the Guard

Posted on 24 December 2012 by The Tactical Hermit

A Christmas Short Story

morning

It occurred to Steve that cold December Night, one week before Christmas, while staring at the blazing fire in the fireplace, why this years Christmas preparation did not have the fervor and excitement other Christmas’ had. He could not put his finger on a particular thing…he just felt it, deep down. The answer was not a groundbreaking one, it certainly was not worthy of any Pulitzer, but it really took Steve back when he realized it. Thinking of the answer, Steve smiled and while the roaring fire warmed his toes, closed his eyes and drifted off to that Christmas Day some 30 years ago, when he was just 8 years old..it was 1982 and there was fresh snow on the ground, and more expected.

Mom and Dad always made the Holidays a big deal..the house was decorated to the nines, with beautiful wreaths and lights strung up…little manger scenes and a table was set up just for greeting cards we had received..Steve remembered one in particular that played Christmas carols when opened..mom had rigged it to play continuously..and that thing played until New Years!! Ohhh the smell’s!! ahhhh the smells that is what really brought the memories flooding back! Smells of cinnamon and nutmeg and allspice and warm gingerbread wafted through the air, combined with the smell of the fresh cedar Christmas tree dad had cut and the cold, wintry Central Texas Air that came roaring through the front door when opened too long.

Steven remembered falling asleep that Christmas Eve as the snow fell outside, the crackling of the fire in the living room and that weird, orange glow it put off that cast strange dancing shadows on his ceiling. Steve would wake just as the dawn started to peak..the snow had stopped falling, but man was it ever a White Christmas!! Steve’s big brother shook him awake for Steve to accompany him into the living room to see what Santa had brung! The house was warm and inviting, the fire, crackled as always in the big fireplace, as the Tree that stood their lit, seemed a bit more majestic that morning….and that hearth, that big stone hearth that Dad had built with his own hands, was covered in toys!! Star Wars action figures and vehicles, Atari 2600 Games, Hot Wheels, E.T Pajamas..it was all there and it was glorious! The stockings that hung, stuffed full of candy and batteries (to power all the toys!!) Just as Steve and his brother started tearing into their loot, Stevens mom and dad came out, mom dressed in her warm robe, holding her big mug of coffee and dad, trailing sleepily behind “What did Santa Bring you?!!” Mom asked..a huge smile on her face…it was Christmas magic at it’s finest.

As Steven awoke from his memory, he wiped the tears away as he glanced over at the picture on the living room table…it was Mom, smiling only the way that Mom could, seated with Dad and their Dog Lacy. Mom had been dead 2 years now, and it seemed like yesterday….Mom’s passing was hard on Dad, but it had hit Steve the hardest..as he was the baby…she was no longer there to make that Christmas magic, she was no longer there to ask “What did Santa bring you?!”. On the same table was a picture of Stevens beautiful wife and two kids..the most amazing family a man could be blessed with….the tears were really flowing now, and they eventually started coming in great sobs as the enormity of the realization hit him……

No, the realization that Steve had was that the Christmas torch had been passed unknowingly…Steven did not get a memo on this or get any fatherly advice that this someday would happen. And Even though Steve still has his Dad, they had done their jobs..they had paid their dues… he had his own family now, and it was up to him and his wife to make that magic for THEIR kids…to make those memories as Steve’s mom had done so many wonderful Christmases…Steve felt his moms voice deep in his heart saying “You can do it son…You can make it happen for those wonderful kids…after all, don’t they deserve it? Don’t they deserve some Christmas magic??” “Yes” was all Steve whispered, as the tears continued flowing down his cheeks, falling on the picture frame…”Yes, mom, they do.”

Merry Christmas and May you realize the Wonderful reason for the Season as you Celebrate the Birth of the Christ, Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord!

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