​Blog 503 – 12.23.2016
Not A Creature Was Stirring Not Even A Mouse

One of my most vivid boyhood Christmas memories was quite exhausting and embarrassing really. But then I have come to think it is most always a character developing exercise to tell on ourselves. It think it must have been my tenth or eleventh Christmas that I got the idea that I was going to stay awake all night and listen to see once and for all what really transpired at our house on Christmas Eve after the kids went to sleep. My brother and I were always up early Christmas morning tearing into all the gifts beneath tree with our names on them. And if Santa left any big gifts, some assembly required, that were unwrapped those we played with loudly and with gusto waking our sleepy parents.

But this particular Christmas Eve I only pretended to go to sleep. I listened to mom and dad talk late into the night. After awhile when they were assured that both my brother and I were asleep they talked about how he and I were so excited about what we thought we were going to get and I heard my dad get upset more than once about one or more “some assembly required” project that he had to complete before he and mom could go to sleep. After they retired to their bedroom they continued talking for sometime before they got quiet. I was so wired and I knew it was still a couple of hours before I could legally get at those gifts. Over the years my brother and I had gradually moved back what “morning” meant to where actually two or three a.m. was considered fair game by us. It had been several years since mom and dad had actually gotten to see us open our presents.

But I just discovered a flaw in my plan to stay up all night. I had to pee real bad and knew that if I got up to go to the bathroom so early after mom and dad went to bed that one or the other might hear me and be wise to my secret plot. So I lay there and tried to hold it for a reasonable period of time to pass. Time crawls under such circumstances. And I am sure only a few minutes went by before I called out guiltily, ” I’ve got to pee.” And my dad replied in a sleepy and irritated voice, Well, go dammit.” He often confused the pronunciation of David switching the v and d to an m and a t. He had no clue I had been awake the whole time but I thought I was caught. The mind of a child.

After the much needed visit to the bathroom I returned to bed and to my Christmas Eve vigil. It was a long night, one if not the longest of my life. Fortunately my brother was always an early Christmas morning riser and way before daylight we were out in the living room tearing into our treasures. I did tell on my self but not till several Christmases later. And I also took a nap that Christmas Day.

Your friend and fellow traveler,
With visions of sugar plums dancing in my head,
David White