The Grinch, Part Deux

Well, the big day is almost upon us and so begins the rush rush rush to get everything done. Last minute gifts bought and wrapped, goodies baked, cards sent (which I didn't do this year...ooppss) and the ever present desire to make sure that the kids have the biggest and best that the season has to offer. But a funny thought occured to me as I was driving home from work the other day with all of the to-do's running through my head...I simply could not remember but maybe 4 or 5 of the gifts I'd gotten as a child.(Sorry Momma and Daddy!) When I think back on the Christmases of my youth (which was NOT all that long ago, thank you very much! ;) ) what I remember most is the traditions that my family had. On the night of Dec. 23rd, we would all get together at my Mamaw's house. The grownups would stay up late playing cards (Rook to be exact, a game that I learned to play as I got older and haven't played in a LONG time) and my cousins and I would make general nuisances of ourselves. And of course, there would be LOTS of snacking going on.....MMMM, sausage balls!! Then that night, (Christmas Eve Eve so to speak) Santa would come and visit us at my Mamaw's house. Christmas Eve was always "really" Christmas to me...Christmas Eve was Christmas at Mamaw's and if Christmas is all about where your heart is, well, Mamaw was (and still is) where my heart is. Not that I don't love going to my Granny's house, which is where we went on Christmas Day, but even now, when I think Christmas, I think Mamaw's. Of course, then there was Christmas morning at my house, which was probably the most wonderful part of Christmas b/c it was the part that I didn't have to share with anyone else...(This is where the Grinch comes out of me...) It was all about ME! (Ahh, what else would you expect from an only child, hehehe) But really, if the truth be known, the best thing about Christmas wasn't the gifts, or the decorations, or the food....it was the anticipation of Christmas. The time from Thanksgiving to Christmas, the time spent with family getting everything ready for the big day...That's the best part of Christmas. So this year, when Santa leaves the Hurricanes' toys and I'm looking and worrying that they don't seem to have much (YEAH RIGHT!!) I hope that I will remember the famous line from the Grinch movie...."Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store. Maybe, just maybe, Christmas means a little bit more"