Christmas memories

The first Christmas I remember we lived in Mesa. I got a push car from Santa and Ray got a Fire car. I remember being jealous because Ray's car was a peddle car and had a bell. I remember pushing Ray in his peddle car up and down the driveway so he could learn how to peddle it. I have looked high and low to find a push car like that but they must not have been very popular because I haven't been able to find one even close. I rode the wheels off of that old push car. When I was about 12 I fixed the wheels using tin can lids and bailing wire and I rode it back and forth in the old blue truck bed. That was the only place I could find that was smooth enough to ride it on.

We always got a Christmas stocking from Santa. It was a mesh material and was filled with nuts, hard tack, ribbon candy, an orange, an apple, and usually a pack of gum. We always opened our presents on Christmas morning not any on Christmas eve. The cows had to be milked and everyone up before we could open presents. More than once Ray and I would get up and have the chores done when Dad got up on Christmas morning. I remember one time jumping into bed with our clothes on and acting like we just couldn't wake up to go do the chores. Dad was ready to get mad and he didn't believe us when we told him the chores were done.

My most remembered Christmas was like the next one. We still lived in Mesa and I had been watching cartoons and seen a goat eating tin cans. I decided I wanted a goat for Christmas. Mom and Dad both tried to talk me out of it but my mind was made up. On Christmas morning I was so disappointed when there wasn't a goat under the Christmas tree. Mom finally convinced me to look out side and there tied to the porch was my goat. Santa had left a harness and a cart and my goat was broke to pull it. I named him Billy and had him around for many years.I never did get him to eat a tin can but he would eat about anything else. Looking back I've been surprised Dad put up with having that goat around all those years. He would climb clear up on the barn and lay there and chew his cud.

When I went to uncle Myron's funeral I was talking with Paula and Allan and we were discussing how poor we had been I remembered a Christmas at the farm. I had wanted a set of walkie talkie's so bad for Christmas. I was disappointed when the walkie talkie's were plastic army green and you had to run a string between them. More than once I remember Dad asking us to give up a Christmas toy for a family that didn't get anything. That was so hard but I don't remember ever doing it for real. I think Dad was just trying to help us understand what Christmas was about.

Through the good years and the lean Santa always came. Looking back I don't know how Dad and Mom did it but they made sure it happened. They were always so excited on Christmas morning. Dad would always say Santa must have left his whole load at our house.