It certainly has begun to look like winter in Perryton, Texas this morning. Snow has the ground covered, and it is cold. Now is the time to get in the mood for Christmas. This year is nearing the end of a long trying one for me. I am ready to put it behind, and claim a better one for next year. I am made to remember when I was a child how my dad would arise early in the morning after the fist snow, and have a hot burning fire blazing in the big pot-bellied stove before he awakened we children. The first thing we thought after looking outside and seeing the wonderful white piles of snow, was Christmas is coming soon. We children loved Christmas more than any other time of the year. We lived in the country, and a creek ran through our land. We started early searching for the perfect cedar tree we would cut for our Christmas tree. When mom said, “o k kids its time to cut the tree,” we were gone in a flash. It was within walking distance, and we usually drug the tree all the way to the house. It was such a thrill to make a stand and nail the tree to it, then start using our creative minds to decorate it. After all these years I have never learned to enjoy the new artificial trees that most people use. Christmas is just not the same anymore. But is anything the same? The old saying that goes, “from rags to riches,” is suggestive of our country. We have made so many scientific advances since my childhood days, till I sometimes feel ancient. My dad and mom did move into town after I was married, and they had gas heaters for replacing the wood stoves. I have to say I loved going to their house in town, and enjoying the warm, coziness of the same love they brought with them from the country. My mom was so happy to be cooking her great meals on a gas range with temperature settings on the oven. Her food could not be better than the old type of cooking, but she thought it was. My dad was pleased that mom was happier in town, but he never loved it like the country. My two younger sisters don’t remember the country life, and they envy the endurance of we other children for managing to turn our problems into blessings. They were the new birth of a new life that my parents knew little about. Our parents had to learn a lot of new stuff themselves. Next-door neighbors were almost like live-ins to my parents. The neighbors felt so welcome to come over and enjoy the positive attitude my parents had. After all my mom felt like she had moved from a hard life to a heavenly life. It didn’t make any difference to my dad about his positive attitude, where ever he lived. He was the same wherever he warmed his home. He always felt like he was a pilgrim traveling to a land of milk and honey. I cherish the memories of my parents.
God Bless
Myrtle Jean Sharp
Texas.
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