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| Thirteen of tiggerprr’s Holiday Memories
1. Starting to doubt Santa then finding a reason to believe, or at least suspend disbelief for a few more years.
2. Celebrating Christmas with my college friends during my freshman year at the University of Central Arkansas. It really is true that friends are the family you make. I only wish that I was still in touch with more than a few of them. We were broke college kids, but we really took care of eachother they took really good care of me. I really felt loved during those times. 
3. The anticipation and wondering if it was too early to get everyone out of bed when I was little. I always woke up so early, 430am or so, and I’d lay in bed awake waiting for it to be a more reasonable time. I tossed and turned a lot. LOL
4. Finally getting to go see what Santa and his reindeer brought me. Unlike a lot of kids today, I kept nearly everything I ever got and played with it for years. In fact, I still have some things from my childhood that I passed on to my own daughter, mostly books/stuffed animals.
5. Working on Christmas Day at the Reservations Center for Continental in 1986. I was really young and me and my friends worked that night so our older co-workers could stay with their familes. It was really festive and we had a good time being with eachother at work.
6. Ashlyn’s first Christmas when she was really able to understand what was going on. There’s nothing cooler than seeing the excitement on your own child’s face. At that age, I believe the excitement is not so much what’s actually in the packages but in the opening and wonder about what’s in there. At least that’s what my Dad taught me, and I think he’s right.
7. Spending the first Christmas with the man would would later become my 2nd husband and my daughter’s adoptive Dad. Ashlyn had never had a Christmas tree before (she was 3 then) and he took us out and got one with all the trimmings for our little apartment, it took up a lot of space but the look on her face was priceless.
8. Last year, flying out the day after Christmas to spend the week at Disneyworld. It was insanely crowded, and I never want to go there at that time of year again, but man, was it beautiful there!
9. I lived in Japan for about half of my childhood years (military brat). Me and my mother used to go visit her side of the family in Tokyo to celebrate Oshogatsu. This is a nearly weeklong celebration of the New Year filled with lots of traditions. When I was in Jr. High, Otoshidama, “New Year’s Treasure”, was particularly exciting: adults give kids little envelopes with money inside. My record collection always expanded exponentially during this time. There was a language barrier sometimes, but my cousins and I always found ways to communicate and we always had a great time.
10. Christmas Eve candlelight church services. They’re always so beautiful and spiritually uplifting, no matter the denomination.
11. The very first Christmas we spent in Illinois. We lived in a house with a 30′X30′ living room that had 2 adjacent walls of floor to ceiling windows overlooking a springfed pond and woods. It snowed fluffy snow. It was so beautiful, and a tiny family of deer could be seen scampering through the woods. It was truly a picture perfect Christmas moment, sadly we didn’t capture it because we were too busy enjoying it.
12. The excitement of finding just the right gift for someone. Knowing that it will make someone happy. Christmas is not about presents for me, it’s about all the good feelings that are shared that day. No matter your beliefs, I think that holiday magic translates.
13. My greatest holiday memory isn’t specific, it’s simply love. All kinds of love, if you’re of Christian faith it represents the love that was born that day, the love between a parent and a child, the love between lovers, the love between humans and their furry family members and the love we all should have for other people in general.
With that being said, my Christmas wish for you is simply that you love and are loved in return.
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While you’re out and about in the blogosphere today do me two favors?
First, please go visit my roomie Rhonda and spread a little Christmas cheer her way! You can get to her room by clicking on her thumbnail (OW, that’s gotta hurt!) to the right! And second, please make my cats happy and go vote for their entry in Skeezix the Cat’s Food Dude of the Year Award contest.
Thanks and have a Very Merry Christmas!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others’ comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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on Thursday, December 21st, 2006 at 9:40 am and is filed under Memes.
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December 21st, 2006 at 10:51 am
I’ve worked Christmases and while it sucks, you’re right, the spirit among your co-workers is great. You’re all in the same boat, so may as well make the best of it!
My 13 are up.
December 21st, 2006 at 11:03 am
good memories! I’m off to vote now!
December 21st, 2006 at 11:09 am
I love your list. I have so many wonderful Christmas memories and not one of them is about a present. They’re all about family, love, tradition.
December 21st, 2006 at 11:15 am
#7 is so cool! Her first Christmas tree must have been such a great moment.
December 21st, 2006 at 11:42 am
Absolutely wonderful TT! Christmas memories are some of the fondest memories one can have.
Happy TT and Merry Christmas!
I’m up!
December 21st, 2006 at 12:01 pm
I was in Japan for a week on business during the Cherry Blossom Festival. What a wonderful celebration! And so pretty too.
December 21st, 2006 at 12:10 pm
Great list! I can identify with many of them. My parents used to forbid us from getting up before 6:30am. Apparently, we would rise at around 5am and want them to get up.
Lazy parents…
Merry Christmas!
December 21st, 2006 at 12:18 pm
Nice memories. I’ve been trying to build nice ones for my kids. Seems to be working because they always tell me the best place is home with their family!
December 21st, 2006 at 12:46 pm
That’s what makes holidays so fantastic: all of the memories that we bring to the forefront of our minds each and every year. Your list was truly awesome! I enjoyed it a lot!
Happy Thursday to you!
December 21st, 2006 at 12:53 pm
I’ve worked Christmas too and you are right, it can be fun if you work with good peeps.
December 21st, 2006 at 1:23 pm
The phones must have been pretty quiet when you worked on Christmas. I can’t imagine anyone making a reservation that day!
Oh they were pretty dead for sure! Still, we got some though. Mostly people checking on flight info and reconfirming. Was lots of fun and two words: holiday pay. LOL
December 21st, 2006 at 2:10 pm
I want a 30 x 30 room for christmas!
Oh, I know! I sure miss it! Now every living room seems like a sardine can!
December 21st, 2006 at 4:24 pm
thanks for sharing your heart-warming memories! happy TT!
December 21st, 2006 at 10:46 pm
#2 is just like the Christmas’s I spent at school, some of the best Christmas’s I had before I got married
#5 gets old real quick though
#12 is what drives me thru the holiday season now
December 21st, 2006 at 11:16 pm
What a wonderful list of memories. I enjoyed reading them. Especially #12 and #13,Christmastime is simply Magical. There is nothing like watching my kids get all excited opening their presents, and the wonder in their little faces.
Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!
December 21st, 2006 at 11:40 pm
Good “rememberies” … The holidays are an especially good time to reflect. As a cat, I find that I do my best reflecting in mirrors or closed windows (hee, hee).
DaisyMae Maus
December 22nd, 2006 at 5:24 am
I remember those Christmas mornings, getting up way before my parents. My sister and I always went to bed early so we would wake up before daylight. We never waited for our parents to get up at a reasonable hour though. We made sure they got out of bed.
I’ll have to wish you a Merry Christmas now, since I’m heading home later today to stay with my family for a few days.
I was ever so considerate. Like some sort of anti-child I laid there in sheer torture until a time I deemed reasonable. Enjoy your time with your family!
December 22nd, 2006 at 11:40 am
umm oops I got carried away reading your blog and added myself to last week’s Thurs13 …
Love your blog. I’ll be back. I followed your link over from Kim’s “Embracing Momminess” … who by the way appears in my Thursday13 because of a story she wrote.
ttyl,
pam
Welcome to my little place and I’m glad you liked it! Kim’s blog is a great read!
December 22nd, 2006 at 12:10 pm
Those are such beautiful memories! I loved that you shared them all, but I really love 11 and 13. Merry Christmas!
December 22nd, 2006 at 8:03 pm
Wonderful Christmas memories!!
Merry Christmas!!
**tosses razzleberries & roasted chestnuts**