A Christmas Story with Grandpa

This is a much edited repost. The original, written in 2008, was 'Giggles at Christmas'. In 2014 ~ after some (but not enough) editing it was entitled 'A Christmas Foray.' 

Today I've chosen to do another re-write with several additions, subtractions and a new title: 'A Christmas Story with Grandpa'. Here is:

A Christmas Story with Grandpa

Grandpa would always listen to me, so I decided to tell him about what Sam and I did on Christmas Eve. Sam told me not to, but I was excited and Grandpa was in the big rocking chair by the fireplace, so I didn’t listen to Sam. This is what I told Grandpa.

“When do you think Santa’s coming?”

My brother, Sam, and I were whispering because we weren’t supposed to be awake. And we definitely weren’t supposed to go downstairs. Santa had not even been here yet! We really had tried to go to sleep, each of us in our own rooms across from each other. As soon as our parents closed our doors and went downstairs, we opened our doors so we could call to each other. Going back to bed, eyes closed tight, we both lay stiff and still. Grandpa, we even pretended to snore so it really sounded like we were asleep. Sometimes even pretend snoring would help us to go to sleep, or at least prove to mom and dad that we were asleep. All it did was make us giggle. Our spirits were too excited to even pretend to sleep but we really did try to be quiet. 

“You kids be quiet! Santa can’t come if there are any giggling kids around.” That's what mom and dad both said.

I grabbed a stuffy and cuddled under my covers. My eyes were shut tight again, but the stifled giggling wouldn’t stop. Sam said he didn't do any of that, but I don't believe him. He always keeps his stuffed dog on his pillow.

Then dad called and said “Your mom and I are just going outside to take Butch for his walk. Then we’ll be in the garage for a few minutes. Now, you kids settle down and go to sleep.” 

Butch was our brown and white English bulldog that we had gotten for Christmas two years before this Christmas Eve. As soon as we heard that we would be alone in the house, Sam came into my bedroom. We tiptoed to the stairs and made each other be quiet. I held my breath til I was blue! And my jingle bells on my red Christmas slippers made too much noise. My brother just thought they were dumb. He always went barefoot. So I took my slippers off and went barefoot too. Just as we got to the top of the stairs, we heard the garage door slam shut so we knew mom and dad were inside of the garage.

Sam said “Come on. It’s safe to go downstairs.”

Our bare feet were cold! But there thick carpet at the top of the stairs, and we listened to make sure there was no one in the house yet.

“Sam, aren’t you glad Butch had to go out?”

“Yeah, he’d be making too much noise. He doesn’t know how to be quiet. He'd be running up and down the stairs like crazy!”

My heart was pounding really fast, but we tiptoed down the stairs anyway. Sam said he wasn’t scared. He said he was never scared of anything.

“Oh, look at the lights!  Aren’t they beautiful?”

“You can’t even see them yet!  What are you talking about?”

‘Brothers!’ I thought and then I said “Of course you can’t see them, silly but look at the glowing blue from the lights.”  

Out loud, Sam said “Well then, why didn’t you say that.”

“Shhh. We have to be quiet”

“Why? There’s no one here.”

“If we talk loud we won’t hear if anyone comes in! So just be quiet...”

This talking carried us down the four stairs to the landing and, on the first step after the landing, there was our beautiful Christmas tree. All the lights sparkled on the silver and gold Christmas balls and sparkly tinsel. Dad always had to hang the tinsel in perfect straight lines. The sparkle and glitter under the cloud of angel hair looked like magic. Our very old Christmas Angel, was on top the magical tree.

My brother raced ahead of me. “Wow! Look at all the presents!”  

There was a ton of presents!! Our old brown stockings, the old brown ones that we had to wear to school every day were still flat. No Santa Claus yet. Then we froze. The back door opened and before mom or dad could see, we raced back upstairs, closed the doors to our rooms really quietly. I jumped into bed and looked like I was asleep. Sam said he did that too so I guess he did. By the time our parents came in to check on us we were safe. They let Butch in my room, then closed our doors softly behind them. I heard them whispering!

“So, Grandpa, when they were both whispering, do you know what they might have been whispering about?” 

“Well, they probably just didn’t want to wake you up. You and Sam really fooled them. Your mom and dad thought you were sound asleep. Now, let’s go find Sam and Butch and go for a walk. You can tell me whether Santa Claus brought you anything.”

“The world is shaped by two things ~ 
stories told and the memories they leave behind.”

~ Vera Nazarian, Dreams of the Compass Rose