~ 2002 ~

The

Robert Blair Craig

Family

This has been my 65th Christmas! My recollections only go back to my 5^th or 6^th Christmas. If I am right, my 1^st Christmas gift was a wheel barrow hand made by my dad, Robert LeRoy Craig. That would have been about 1943 or 44. As I recall we really celebrated Christmas two places on Christmas day. One at home the first thing in the morning. The only thing I recall about the inside of our home in Kent, PA, 1943, was coming down the stair steps and being excited about the Christmas tree in the living room. In those days, mom and dad would put the tree up on Christmas eve after I went to bed. That was as much of my excitement over Christmas as gifts. I was of course told that Santa put it up. I would open my one gift (times were really tough then) and be happy playing with it and upset when it was time to leave it there under the tree, and we would start off to Parkwood, PA to celebrate the 2^nd part of Christmas with grand-father Martin Burton Craig & grand-mother Margaret Myrtilla HOLSTEIN Craig. It was there I would get my 2^nd Christmas present. It was usually as exciting as getting the one at home. Another year I got a Rider Wagon, and another a Truck. Oh, yes, I recall early on having a Teddy Bear that I kept closer than that crib blanket some children become attached to. Christmases past following those days don’t seem to come to mind up and until I got that Lionel Train set when we lived in Dixonville, PA. That would have been sometime between 1949 & 1953. I also recall getting a set of skis ~ and then it didn’t snow for two years.

Christmas was always a happy time. It seemed that our interests were in attending church services and visiting with family. Gifts were only a small part of this so sacred of holidays.

Today it is more about how well the stock market is doing and if or not the sales will out do last years. Shopping and more shopping. The ACLU is doing all it can to take Christ out of not only Christmas, but our lives as well. What is worse, many clergy join them in this effort.

Today it is about how many gifts and what they will be and from how many people. Glenda and myself have celebrated Christmas at Jeff’s home, at Roger’s home and here at our home.

I feel kind of left out. Our grand children have celebrated Christmas for two days. Twice on Christmas Eve, and two or three times on Christmas Day. They will have been at everyone’s house here and some will then travel to visit everyone’s house there. We have weddings and divorcees. We have mom and step mom and dad and step dad and on and on. I’m only reflecting, not complaining – no, not at all. It just completely overwhelms me when I try and draw all the loose ends together. God is out. Greed is in. Christ has no place in the Inn ~ but I want the best room in the house ~ the whole house if I can swing it.

Only thing . . . one day, the bill will come due. There will be a pay-day some day. What will we have to pay for our fleeting moments of self-engrandisement?

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