By Shelley Bennett
The first day of December. A month that holds so many promises, memories, and moments of joy and a month that is also filled to the brim, full of stress, and lots of lists.
As a child, December first was pure magic. It usually meant driving up Main Street to admire the lights and garland that the LMUD crew had strung up and down the road. I still get excited when I walk out my classroom door and see that they have been busy while I was inside teaching.
It’s a signal that Christmas is near and the whole town is ready for it.
December first meant that my birthday was soon and that the days would be filled with class parties and rehearsals for Christmas shows. It meant that I would sit in the Methodist Church and be entranced with the sounds of the Messiah or watch the dancers in The Nutcracker or perform in Amahl and the Night Visitors.
It meant baking cookies and making candy with my family, decorating our tree, and visiting Santa at the Bank of America.
As a parent, December has come to mean something else. Now I am the one who has to figure out the logistics of the parties and planning and running around. Add to that a wedding anniversary, two sons who played basketball, final exams, and a daughter born on the day of Christmas Eve and I am running low on the magical part of the season.
Thankfully I have Leo and the lists I mentioned before to keep me on track.
Speaking of lists, my kids always write lists of things they would like for Christmas. It is due on Thanksgiving day, so Nana has plenty of time to shop. When Landon was about 7, he decided he didn’t need to make a list, that Santa would just know what he wanted. I encouraged him to write a letter to Santa, thinking I could sneak a peak at it before it was mailed, but Landon had other plans.
The days of December passed and there was still no letter nor list. People would ask him what he wanted for Christmas and Landon would just smile and not say a word.
I enlisted the help of my sister Alison to unlock the secrets of Landon’s list and she got a little more information. He would like a 4-foot tall, stuffed giraffe. I wondered if it was a test.
Finally, on December 24 Landon brought me an envelope with his letter to Santa and said it was ready to send. (No, I’m not kidding.) I put it in our mail slot without any postage and hoped that his present stash would match the contents.
An hour or two later there was a knock at the door. It was our postman. He asked for Landon and explained that he had noticed the letter and had sent it to Santa immediately. He was happy to report that Santa’s elves had a few spare moments before the sleigh left and responded to Landon. The postman presented Landon with a letter from Santa’s elves that said they would do their best to fulfill his request.
Landon just smiled, said thank you, and accepted the letter, his blue eyes dancing. I stood there in shock, at a loss for words, and hoped that the postman could feel how grateful I was. I stumbled over a thank you, wished him a Merry Christmas, and closed the door.
At a time, when I didn’t feel very magical, the people of our small town made it happen for me. And for Landon.
Christmastime doesn’t always live up to the hype and we might wonder where the magic went or where it will come from, especially this year. So, here’s to finding the “good stuff” this month and finding the magic of Christmas in the small and simple things: the lights across Main Street, Christmas songs on Spotify, watching Elf on Netflix, and the wonder in a child’s face.
Remember when news was ‘newsy’? When you read about weddings, family events and engagement announcements in the newspaper? If you have something that might be newsworthy, please submit it to [email protected] and I’ll do my best to include it here in “The Good Stuff.”
