On This Night, Christmas Eve

One Christmas, years ago when my youngest daughter was 4 and my two oldest children were in Jr High and High school, it was the end of a very rough year... but I still wanted Christmas to be special, so I loaded up all of the presents I had bought, hid them under a blanket, and the kids and I drove to my sister's house in San Antonio...

That Christmas Eve I was soooo tired and not much in the spirit of Christmas, but of course my littlest one was very excited about Santa's coming visit... ANYWAY - it was getting late so I took her and her 6 year old cousin to bed and read them stories to help them settle down - it wasn't too hard - they were excited, but of course they HAD to go to sleep so Santa would come... and, the next thing I know... The little one is whispering in my ear "Wake up! Wake up! Santa Came!!"

OMG... I had fallen asleep with the girls - I got up slowly, and stalled the best I could, and was still trying to think of a plausible excuse why "Santa" hadn't actually come yet as we padded down the hallway to the living room...

Well - He DID come... My two older children, knowing how tired I was, had decided to let me sleep. When the coast was clear they had gone out to the car & gotten all of the gifts I had been very careful that NO ONE knew about out of the car - and arranged everything so perfectly around the tree, just like I would have done - had meant to do... even their own unwrapped gifts.

That was the year that Santa Really DID Come...

On this special night, I hope your life is touched in some special way... Somehow, another year has passed, and I am amazed at all of the things that are possible - You just can't ever give up, ever. Keep moving forward...

Merry Christmas to all...