By Arlene Graham Daddy was sick. That was the only way I could explain it to my 24-year old sister, Sheena, who has Down syndrome. But I knew in my heart it was much worse than that. He looked terrible lying there. His face was a sickly shade of gray, his skin clammy. As the […]
By Lynda Finn Sooner or later your child will ask you, ‘Is Santa Claus really true?’ Your answer will depend on whether you believe in truth or dreams. When this happened to me I looked my son square in the eye and said, ‘Sure, I’ve seen him’. I wasn’t referring to the jolly citizens dressed […]
By LeAnn R. Ralph From the time I was a very little girl, I had always loved to watch my big sister, Loretta, when she was sewing. So, one Sunday afternoon while she worked on the red velveteen jumper that was going to be my Christmas outfit, I didn’t want to miss a single thing. […]
By Karen Heinz Thinking back of all the Christmas’s in my life I search deep to find one that would qualify to be my most memorable. Growing up we never had the Christmas mornings every child dreams of. Things were tough and there were some years there was only one or two gifts under the […]
Submitted Anonymously Yesterday, Friday the 22nd of November, I was preparing to smoke a turkey in my backyard. I was practicing for our first smoked Thanksgiving turkey. (I was practicing because I didn’t want to fail under the pressure of 17 visiting relatives next week). Anyway, I had been at it for most of the […]
By Pat Veretto Clouds have a unique color when they’re carrying snow over the Rockies. From the plains you can watch a snow storm wandering around the face of a mountain, slipping into the folds of valleys, running its fingers through the evergreen forest and bumping down rocky slopes. This day, two days before Christmas, […]
By Anonymous Consider the following: 1) No known species of reindeer can fly. BUT there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these are insects and germs, this does not COMPLETELY rule out flying reindeer which only Santa has ever seen. 2) There are 2 billion children (persons […]
By Stella Whitlock The weather in late December 1958 stayed chilly and gray, and once the other seminary students deserted campus for the holiday break, the maintenance staff turned down the heat. Our tiny married students’ apartment was so cold I could see my own white breath. My husband Whit and I weren’t going anywhere […]
By Salvatore Buttaci When I remember all the long-gone Christmases of my youth, one in particular stands out vividly in my memory. Oh, there were a few unforgettable ones, like in 1948 when I was seven and Santa brought me a red and black cowboy suit that made me think I looked like the western […]
By Clare Moore “Clare, are you almost ready?” Mom said. My family and I were going to the church service on Christmas Eve. We go every year. I was so excited because we get to sing my favorite song, Silent Night, in church at the end of the service with the bright gorgeous lit candles. […]
By Susan Howe I didn’t know it until the year she passed away, but my Grandmother held the secret of Christmas. As a child, we would drive the 30 minutes west to her small spanish-style home on a small park in San Diego, past dairy land and open spaces unheard of today in over-developed Southern […]
By Charles Delaney The great window of the library’s Victorian-styled reading room overlooked the town center and served as the perfect backdrop for Mistletoe Memories. The Naugatuck Reader’s Theater holiday production was set to commence as a light snow began to glaze the peaceful Town Green across the street. The festively adorned audience of a […]
