A Visit From the Ghost of Christmas Past

As another Christmas season sneaks into the room; like old Ebenezer, we just can't hide from the Ghost of Christmas Past - and I am not sure we want to.  I always loved the image of this particular Dickens spirit.  The travel into my own Christmas Past was vividly brought home to me as, a week ago, I spent time with my two boys in Tampa - they are actually both grown men but more on that later.

I first visited my son Andy and his family in Tampa; they have one infant and two children.  Like most kids now-a-days, my grandchildren have way more toys than anyone deserves; many inoperable, some simply out of juice, others downright broken.  The children are deeply immersed in a combination of television, super heroes, dolls, and computer devices of all kinds - both talented and bright.

What transported me back, however, was their unfettered joy and excitement in these few weeks before Christmas.  Wrapping little AJ in my arms and whispering, "Is Santa coming?" is all it took.  I physically felt the quiver of his little body and, paying close attention, I could feel the thump-beat of his heart - the look of wonder on his face was immediate.  In that moment my own ghost of Christmas Past took my hand and walked me right back to a long-ago Christmas when I got the same response holding my baby boy Andy (AJ's dad) in my arms while whispering the same simple question.

And so as I snuggled with AJ and Adriana and we talked about Christmas I found myself becoming just a tad melancholy... mixed emotions.  The sheer pleasure of being with grandchildren just before Christmas cannot be beat but the memories of the good-times-gone tore at me.

I also spent a short time with my 35 year-old middle child - Justin.  Heck, he is far from a child but rather a hulk of a grown man - a body-builder.   Where was that skinny little kid that sat with me as we viewed countless Christmas specials on TV?  Well, he was right there next to me for about 40 minutes as we watched the black and white version of "It's a Wonderful Life."  I was transported years back in time as I heard Justin again speaking the lines uttered by poor old George Bailey; we watched knowing Clarence would get his wings... but we sat there and watched never-the-less.  That big guy sitting next to me might well have been a spindly little 7 year old - a few moments of memories with my boy-man... sheer joy and simple pleasures!

It is interesting to experience how we older folks view our grown children at this time of the year as we hearken back to Christmases long past and recall and, indeed miss, the magic.  It doesn't matter that my boys are all fully grown adults - Christmas with your children, whatever their age, is just special.  The old phrase "they will always be your babies" is oh so very true - especially this time of the year.

So my trek into the past was unexpectedly personal and poignant - it was guided my my Grandchildren and not the Ghost of Christmas Past.  It was aided by an old classic Christmas movie that re-cemented a father-son bond.  In a very short visit with my two boys and grandchildren I was able to reconnect for just a bit with those long gone feelings surrounding Christmas; it brought a tear and a smile all at the same time... like I said; mixed emotions!

The one thing that transcends all of the spirits, all of the traditions, all of the tall tales is the love we feel at this time of the year.  If you are lucky enough to have young ones scurrying about, make sure you give them long snuggles and lots of hugs and feel their excitement as you whisper on Christmas Eve... "Santa is coming tonight!"

If only... all of the credit goes to my wife Sally. She has been relentless in passing on Christmas ornaments to the grandchildren... sparkly ones, funny ones, delicate ones.  We do this based our own experience of decorating our tree - just about every ornament has a memory or a special person attached to it.  We give these ornaments to the children in our lives in the belief that this little token of Christmas will be treasured and passed on into the future and may just bring about a comment "That one came from Grammy and Grampie! They really loved Christmas!"