Christmas is a wonderful time of year. I have always loved the spirit of the season. It is the one season everyone has the spirit of giving to others from their heart."

I have so many memories of Christmas with past, present and I hope the future. There was one Christmas in perticular in 1972 that always stuck in my memory." I would tell that story today and it is no longer sad for me, it makes me laugh not cry like it did when I was eleven yrs old.

 When I lived with my grandparents we never had a tree and till this day never knew why. I remember one Christmas going out and cutting a small cedar tree, Yes, it was a small tree. It looked like a twig with a two or three small branches on it. I would string popcorn up and wrap it around the twig of a tree. I could not put to much stuff on it or it would flop over. Grandma would grumble why I would even take the effort to put a twig or tree up." We never recieved anything much for Christmas except a apple and orange. No toys.

I was eleven years old when I stop beleiving in Santa Claus. I waited on him till Midnight, I figured he might not show up as long as I stayed up waiting on him. I fluffed up my feather pillow and lay my head down to sleep. The next morning I woke up and looked around and sure enough I found an apple and orange right above my head.

I jumped out of bed and ran into the living room to look under my tree I had put up on christmas eve. I was shocked to see No tree and of course NO presents." My little heart melted like the snow that was falling down on the ground early that morning." I was upset. It was like a lump in my throat that would not go down. I heard grandma in the kitchen fixing breakfast and soon I heard her holler out my name to come and eat.