Ten Tuesday Holiday Memories (in no particular order)

1. 1984 - My sister-in-law (before she was my sister-in-law) did the twelve days of Christmas for me. I would come out from work and find a treat on my windshield. Or get something special delivered to me at school... it was quite the mystery and is still one of my favorite holiday memories.
2. 1980-something - It snowed so much we could not make the trip to my Grandma's house for Christmas eve. We had never missed it before. I remember driving around our little town looking for a place we could eat Christmas dinner... and the only place open was Andrew & Steve's restaurant. Not the best food, but still, a memory...
3. Early 1970's - we had a white, blow up Rudolph the red nosed reindeer. I loved that silly thing and used to really wish I could sit on it, but of course, being blown up, it couldn't support my weight. I can still remember his plastic-y smell and the seams running down his neck and back.
4. Early 1980's - Polariod pictures everywhere! This was great, because you could take a picture and see it right away! This particular year, we were at my Grandma Carson's house and I was wearing a new burgundy velour Christmas shirt. I remember hearing my Grandma say something quietly to my Mom about how in the Polaroid you could see the nap of the velour change because of my newly developing chest. I remember feeling a sense of both horror and pride at this whispered revelation.
5. 1970-something - My Grandma Young had a tall cylinder with a candle it in on her coffee table. One of my cousins inadvertently bounced a super ball into the cylinder. We all spent the next eternity (waiting for the adults to finish the Christmas dinner dishes so we could open presents) bouncing that ball into the glass cylinder. We took turns sitting on either end of the coffee table - bouncing once on the table, and if you were lucky, into the glass. My cousins were a lot older than I, and this is one of my best memories of playing with them.
6. 1995 - Asia and I worked at a group home for severely abused children. Christmas was an extravaganza there... SO many presents for these kids who may never have had any sort of Christmas before. We had a family there, for sure.
7. 1991 - The strike of midnight, Christmas Eve. I was asleep on the couch in my brother's living room. I had flown into town from California that afternoon and Asia had picked me up at the airport. He woke me up in a white tuxedo with Lionel Ritchie playing in the background and asked me to marry him. He gave me the sweetest solitaire engagement ring. I said yes.
8. 1994 - Again, it was Christmas Eve. 11:40 pm, and I had been in labor for 24 hours. The doctor was getting ready to use the vacuum extractor to pull K. out... he asked "Do you want to wait 20 minutes so he can be born on Christmas Day?" You can imagine my response. Our first baby was born at 11:44 pm, December 24th.
9. 2003 - We had spent our extended family Christmas in Vancouver at my brother's house. It snowed. Like a LOT. Our trip home, which usually takes 6 hours, took 10. We drove the last 100 miles going 25 miles an hour. Everywhere you looked there were cars off the road. Thank goodness we had brought a DVD player with us on that trip. I can't even tell you how many movies the kids watched on that trip.
10. 1990 - I flew to Florida to spend Christmas with Asia and his family. We had only 'dated' long distance and this was only the second time we were able to spend any amount of time together. We kissed for the first time on Christmas eve. I fell in love with him in the muggy heat of Okeechobee, Florida. That was our first Christmas together. This will be our 17th.