Christmas Memories: Anticipation

The day of Christmas Eve. Ahhh, what a long, lovely day it was. It was the slowest day of the year. Christmas eve was the biggest celebration ever and it took forever for nighttime to come. First thing on the agenda was cleaning my room. Before the day was over, I would be bringing new things, my presents, into that room. Everything had to be spotless and orderly; every pencil laid straight, the bed made perfectly, the dolls in their rightful place, my drawers organized and even the hangers in my closet had to be perfectly spaced (blame my dad; you should have seen how organized his tools were). Then there was time spent lying on the sofa, looking at the beautiful tree, and waiting. As soon as the boys brought the tabletop up from the basement (to lay over our dining table to make it much bigger), we could begin setting the table. Oh, so many table settings, and done with such care. After the big table I set the "kid's tables". I began to smell the food. The excitement within was so hard to contain! But I was a big girl now, and had to act like it. The boys went to the barn to do the chores a little early. Then......I could see the car lights as the first guests began to arrive.