Yes, There is a Santa

~ rabbitpatchdiary.com

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Today is the first day of the holiday break.   The morning was too lovely not to notice, as I drove to work.  There was a mist hanging over the fields and pastures.  When the sun rose over the tree line, the mist became tinted  and what a difference, it made to the countryside.  The sun looked like a bright clementine for a while.  Moments later it turned the color that only the sun can claim. . . though maybe the daffodils would disagree, as they come as close as anything I know of. 

The air was  only slightly chilled.  So far, a warm Christmas day is predicted.  I took a chance and put a live poinsettia out by the lamp post.  The temperature  even at night, is supposed to be mild. . . time will tell, as it always does. 

 School dismissed early today and I took full advantage of that.  I bought a gift for my sister, filled the car with gas, and  then came home.  I commenced to wrapping presents, determined to finish that project.  Tomorrow, at long last, I am going to Elizabeth City, and I so want to leave the house in good order.  

It took the best part of the afternoon, but it is with great pleasure I can say that the presents are wrapped  and nestled beneath the tree.  Most of the ornaments have been hung and how beautifully familiar they are.     The kitchen is a kitchen again-and oh, the Christmas china is on the table.  I also started packing.  How good it feels to prepare for a visit with my only daughter and grandchild.   I will stay a few days and then come back to the rabbit patch, for my older sons, Brant and Tres are coming home on Christmas eve.  To say,  I am “happy as a lark”  is an understatement.  If all goes well, I hope to have a special supper for Christmas eve.  Lyla will be waiting for Santa,  for the first time this year, so they will not come til Christmas day.  I have no idea what time my sons will arrive,  either.  It matters little to me, what details work out, as long as they all get here safely.  I always say, that I am my happiest, when my children are all gathered and sleeping under my roof again.  Of course, they find this amusing and have no comprehension of this notion.  The boys tease me, that we are sleeping-and  so they wonder how this could evoke such joy for me.  The truth is, all I know is that for a little while, we are “the way we were”.  

When the children were young, they received three gifts from Santa-in keeping with the gifts of the “Wise men”.  Jenny plans to do so with Lyla.  One of the gifts, was always a book-and I still have them, of course.  Mama would ask the children what they wanted for Christmas, and they would say things like Lucky Charms or White bread.  When Jenny was two, she asked Santa for”fried chicken and diamond earrings”.  These stories still tickle me.  Tres asked for a snowman one year, as we have never had a white Christmas, in this “neck of the woods”.  Lyla has already visited with Santa and she asked for “presents”.  When I was young, I saw the “real Santa” and did not know it at the time.

Mama used to sew and make all of our “Sunday ” dresses.  Sometimes they matched, but not always.  I used to hate the “fittings” for I was bound to get stuck by pins no matter how still I stood.  The fittings also seemed to come at the most undesirable times, too. They seemed to come, when my sister I were creating the most exciting dramas with our dolls.  Mama sewed a lot and we took little notice of what she was doing at the sewing machine.  In fact, we tried to steer clear of Mama altogether, when she was sewing.  

Most every year, we got a doll for Christmas-real dolls that looked like babies and shut their eyes to go to sleep.  I probably loved dolls more than any other toy.  I still remember their names, for the dolls were our companions and  were never far from us. One year, the dolls came with a lot of little dresses.  I thought “Santa” had performed some miracle, as the dolls had dresses made from the same materials as our own.  I remember knowing one dress was going to  be itchy, and so did not make the doll wear that one often.

It was years later when I pieced things together.  I was no longer playing with dolls and  so I asked Mama  about that particular Christmas.  Mama said money was especially tight that year, and so she made all of those little dresses.  She said it was tedious work, as the dresses were so little and it took her a long while to make them.  That is when it “dawned on me”, that I had seen the real Santa, after all.  

One year Kyle asked for a bike for Christmas.  We bought one ,  not assembled, as money was tight that year for us.  I wanted that bike put together and begged my husband to do so weeks before Christmas.  Jamie said it would take him twenty minutes tops and not to worry.  Jamie worked on that bike for hours, Christmas Eve night-finally a neighbor and friend joined the effort.  Nuts and bolts were missing, and some were not the right size.  It was a harrowing night and I declare Kyle got up within an hour of  the completion.   . .the real Santa forgot to eat the cookies, that year.

Wednesday

It is raining at the early service.  It is a softly falling rain, and begs one to linger under a soft blanket.  I have a lot of “loose ends”  to tie up, before I leave, so I can not heed the beckoning of a morning rain.  I must use extra caution on my drive to Elizabeth City.  I must pack the rain coat- and the “Christmas books”  that tell the stories of the many reasons, I love Christmas.  I will sing “Joy to the World” with Lyla and “Away in a Manger”-Lyla will sing her “Twinkle Bells” and I will laugh-and I  am bound to cry too, as I am so sentimental (and Irish).   

Dear Diary-I am glad for Christmas, when hearts are  especially tender to one another.  I am glad for memories of  being loved, for I always have been. . . and  I am  especially  glad  that “All hearts come home for Christmas”.  

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55 thoughts on “Yes, There is a Santa”

  1. Oh…I have been in your mothers shoes many times getting ‘Santa” under the tree, On year I was up most of the night finishing a cowboy outfit for my first son. I also did this for my grandson, Chaps and vest…all little boys need a cowboy outfit. I also remember us putting a race car track together and finely slipping into bed only to hear little feet headed to the tree way to soon . But time marches on and don’t we miss those times? give Lila a Christmas hug for me and do be especially careful driving.

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  2. Another beautiful post. This warmed my heart this morning. When we have our children gathered around us, in one place, it is an indescribable sense of peace. Have a wonderful time in Elizabeth City! Hugs to you and yours 🙂

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  3. I sure do enjoy my visits to the rabbit patch. The farmhouse is so lovely. I really enjoy the pictures you have been posting. I find each of them to be perfect.

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  4. What a charming porch photograph! Sigh. I’ll just pause and admire it. I loved reading this, Michele, it made me feel peaceful even though I have a pile of things to do here and you are actually sharing a bit of your busyness, but sigh again. Just lovely. I loved hearing about your childhood and also your thoughts on mothering. I find it so refreshing and encouraging to hear the stories of mothers going before us. Wish everything would slow down a bit, but I know that isn’t possible really. I just need to chose to be present and enjoy this moment. I went with my husband this morning to drop off a vehicle for my father in law and the sunrise was just GORGEOUS over the barren white and black landscape. Deep pinks and purples. Merry Christmas. ❤ Amy

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    1. Amy- I feel the same way-I have such an old fashion heart. We have lost some beauty in the name of progress. I love “today” but I love “yesterday” too. Merry Christmas precious one! love Michele . . . and thank you for all of your kind words.

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  6. I am deeply touched by your story, sitting her in my motel room and waiting for my next radiation treatment at the Centre. The Christmas spirit is embedded in your so lovingly written and true story. I am also looking forward to being home with my family for Christmas. Greetings from much colder Canada!

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  10. Ohhh dearest Rabbit, I loved this pist, for it took me back to my own childhood, and the days of my two girls when they were little.

    I know the years that money was tight for my mum and dad, for it was the years that presents were handmade and yet beautifully so.

    For my two daughters …. I remember sitting up, in the living room, trying to put together a pink My Little Pony castle, with all the stickers and decals in the right places, and all the bits of furniture set up ready.

    When I unpacked the box I said I thought it would take me half an hour and that I’d be in bed before midnight!

    At 3.20am I was finally finished and vowed that I’d never do it again.
    I did, of course. I’m a mum. What can I say? LOL

    Sharing your memories, Rabbit, has been such an incredible, heart warming feeling. It’s like being given a precious gift, and one which I couldn’t possibly get from anywhere else, nor for any amount of money. These are your memories and because of that I am in the blessed position of being able to read them as you share them with me. And … I love you for it.

    Thank you Rabbit.
    Thank you not just for this post, but for all your posts. I have learnt so much. I have laughed often. I have cried, both with you and because of a situation that you have shown me by the painting your words described.

    When I count my blessing I count you twice, for you give me so much of yourself, and remind me of things from my past that I didn’t even realise I’d forgotten. When I sit at the dining table this coming Christmas Day, I will remember to mention your name as I say my prayer of thankfulness to the Lord, for bringing you into my life. You are just what the doctor ordered. No … you are better than any doctor could order, for you are you.

    Everyone should have a Rabbit in their life – for you give a thread of stability to life. I am so very blessed to know you.
    Thank you Rabbit, for everything you do, and are still to do.
    May your Christmas be exactly what you need and want it to be.
    With love ~ Cobs. xxx

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    1. well. . . this may be one of the most moving comments I have ever received. I hope you realise how grateful I am to know you-I do not know, how i got along without you, now. You have an uncanny knack to love with your words. I feel how genuinely good your heart is-and I want to be like you. That is admiration in its’ purest form. God bless you always. I love you, Cobs. Merry Christmas!

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  11. Beautiful memories. My favourite gift from Santa.. and the only thing ever asked for was a new doll… or maybe doll clothes… and was always blessed by receiving what I asked for. I was the last of 10 children.. and stories of my siblings Christmases.. in lean years, was that they were happy to receive stockings with goodies in them and perhaps a book… or a refurbished toy.
    Anyway, have a wonderful Christmas Michele…. Diane

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  12. When I got to the wish for “fried chicken and diamond earrings,” I laughed out loud. That is so wonderful. And as for Santa — of course Santa exists. The only thing that puzzled me about Santa when I was young was when my mother suggested we put out 7-Up for him to drink with his cookies, rather than milk. I was very, very much older before I figured out that Santa might have been mixing a little Seagram’s with the 7-Up, for a very typical 1950s drink!

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  14. What a lovely post. Your front porch is so beautiful and welcoming. I couldn’t imagine leaving a poinsettia outside in our neck of the woods, unless is was plastic!!
    Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas

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  15. Michele, I had to laugh about you not making your doll wear the itchy dress! My mom used to sew all our clothing also when I was a child and our dolls had matching clothing.
    My sons do not understand either how happy it makes me to have them all under my roof. I used to wonder why my dad had the biggest grin on his face when all his kids were home….and now I know. Someday our children will totally understand also.
    Have a blessed time with your family Michele!

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    1. you are right-oh goodness, the hardest part of parenting for me was when they all grew up! I really struggled and just felt lost-Oh what a difference a grandchild made–and Jenny needs me again! haha! Merry Christmas and I wish you many blessings! love Michele

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  16. What lovely memories of Christmas you have, Michele! They always put a smile on your face and the faces of the readers. You remember so many details. Mama spent all those hours to make dresses for the dolls. Assembling the bike… How precious.
    I have one and only daughter. She and her husband only have Christmas day off. So we go to them in Portland, Oregon for Christmas. We’ll have a great time with Autumn’s first Christmas.
    Hope you get everything done before you get on the road. Merry Christmas to you!

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  21. Oh we all have those Christmas memories don’t we and every year we think back to them and enjoy them just as much each time. Sounds like you are going to be a happy busy!! Safe travels, enjoy your time and wishing you a very Merry Christmas, sleeping children and all! Your tree is beautiful. love Deb xo

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