The day of our Savior’s birth rapidly approaches. Speaking on a very personal level this holiday means something very different than it did 6 years ago, before I became a Christian. My memories - many of them filled with nostalgia run the gamut from my days as a little boy through to this year. They include my parents, my three daughters and now 8 grandchildren.Having been born and raised in the Midwest, memories include snow, lots of snow and cold. Putting your tongue on a pump handle on a very cold day to see if it would stick, is one memory. It will stick by the way. I can remember lots of snow on the University of Michigan golf course and both sledding and skiing down the hills on that golf course.

Awakening early on Christmas morning and peaking at the tree to see what Santa had left and if he ate the cookies we left for him. I can vividly recall one Christmas Eve when I was too excited to sleep and knew he would not come until I was asleep. Suddenly there was a noise on the roof . . . it had to be Santa! I made a point of covering my head and trying to go to sleep. It was a stick from a nearby tree that was brushing against the side of the house as it turns out. One memory that really stands out in my mind is the year that my parents gave me a little black puppy. That wiggly face-licking puppy came in a gift wrapped box with a big red bow. One of my best ever memories for sure!

My brothers and I as kids were allowed to open one gift on Christmas Eve. We nearly always opened the one from Aunt Mary. She is one of the best gift givers ever! We as kids, in some years, would really want something special for Christmas - only to be disappointed from time to time. Some years were pretty sparse when it came to money. My mother was a terrific cook, so we had many wonderful Christmas day dinners. Can still see them and yes, even smell them. And I can still smell my Mom’s perfume.

Our three daughters have memories that include not only some of the cold ones from the Midwest and Canadian holidays, but now nearly 30 years of wonderful southern Christmas holidays. The annual frustrating effort to get the lights on the tree was always something to “look forward to.” How in the world they got so tangled from when we put them away until we needed them again is beyond me. Our eldest daughter made an angel one year and it graced our tree every year for many years. Our daughters have continued the tradition of leaving cookies for Santa and carrots for his reindeer. When my parents retired to Florida they stopped putting up a big tree. They had a small artificial one maybe two feet high that sat on a table. Our kids always wondered why they had such a little tree. My mother loved the snow so she really missed the snow after they moved to Florida. Our kids loved the stockings that were hung empty on Christmas Eve only to be filled to overflowing by Christmas morning. Many of these traditions are alive and well in our daughters families homes today.

We always visited my parents after our Christmas morning and opening presents. My parents’ home was usually filled with people laughing and talking and the home was filled with the many smells that come with Christmas. My mother did not spoil our girls at all. Of course she didn’t. One of the memories for each of the girls is the tradition of playing cards usually on Christmas night. Lots of laughs - played a lot dirty 8’s. We played charades of course. My father was just outstanding at that game . . . not.

Yes looking back on many Christmas holidays at the ripe old age of 70 brings back many wonderful memories with my parents, with my wife Joan and the three girls and now with my wife Shari with the 3 girls, 8 grandchildren. We are building more memories and carrying on traditions as well as adopting new ones from Shari’s family. What a wonderful time of year.

The best part is that we mark the reason for Christmas. Christ was born - our Savior. What a wonderful gift that is!

Your obedient servant, Richard Freeman