By Jeff Westover Two words: parasite and dung. One today can hardly believe the association of these two words with something so romantically quaint as mistletoe is now in our Christmas traditions. So let the reader beware. What follows may cause you to reconsider a symbol of the season so lovingly cherished by many. Mistletoe, […]
By Dena Simmons Another long cold December night lay ahead of us. It would be much longer than we knew at the time. With the last minute shopping behind us, we thought we would be able to rest. It was the 23rd of December and we had been at the mall all day. My husband, […]
By Allison Dubois Christmas was my mother’s favorite holiday. She brought an enthusiasm and happiness to that special day that I have missed since she passed away over twenty years ago. It’s hard to concede how much time has passed since we last shared such a merry occasion but the calendar reminds me dutifully. When […]
By Julie Dacus It was the Christmas after my oldest son, Will, was born, the Christmas of 1995. That year had been a hectic one, with our son being born in May, and all of the adjustments to parenthood that followed. My husband and I were quite excited about Christmas with Will. We decorated and […]
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 […]
