My Little Sister and I: A Christmas Story

posted in: Articles, choosing connection | 0

My niece, Keyani, was the first child born of the next generation in my family. She was the only young child for a while. My sisters and I were all still pretty young. I’m the oldest and I was only 24. My youngest sister was 15.

One Christmas Eve, when my niece was about five or six years old, my youngest sister and I became aware of what we thought was a problem. 20141225_082118

When we were growing up, Christmas morning was all about waking up super early and being super excited that Santa had arrived sometime during the night. I know this happens in quite a few families.

But, Keyani was one of those children who always slept in. Until 9 or 10, sometimes. So, every Christmas morning, she would wake up and come down to a house full of already awake and dressed adults. All waiting for her.

That year, when we realized that Keyani wasn’t experiencing the excitement of waking up before everyone else and “discovering” that Santa had come, my youngest sister and I schemed to change that.

We set our alarms early and together we tiptoed in to Keyani’s room. “Santa Came!!!!” we said. We will always remember how Keyani got up so quickly she fell out of the bed she was so excited. We let her lead the way as we raced down the stairs to see that yes, he had come in the night and left all sorts of goodies in our stockings.

Then, we heated some apple cider and sat down with her to wait quietly for the other adults to wake up.

It was magical and such a sweet memory for my littlest sister and I. Maybe Keyani remembers, as well.

My whole family is gathering today. My niece is now 20 and expecting her own baby in February. We will have a house full of love and children.

I am staying with my sweet Emily, 18 years old now, and she is still asleep. Her brother, Ian, is not here this year. He is on an amazing adventure in Mexico. I miss him dearly.

Not much changes. I am still the first awake on Christmas morning. I have been up for a while. Long enough to write this post.

I hope that if you celebrate Christmas you are making magic today with family and friends. And if you don’t celebrate Christmas, I hope you take some time to relax and enjoy the quiet.20141225_082128

Love,
Teresa