MY FAVORITE MEMORIES OF THE SEASON

The older I get, the quicker the holidays seem to arrive each year! I'm still working on sending out Christmas cards. My aunt and I have a friendly competition to see who can send our greeting cards to each other first.

As a result, we've been sending our Christmas cards to each other earlier and earlier each year!

At this point, Thanksgiving preparation includes drafting her card to mail out as soon as possible.

Before long, I may have been sending her a card on Veterans' Day! It's funny, but I look forward to our internal joke each year.

Sadly, she passed away in September. Sending out Christmas cards will never be the same. I'll have to bring my cousin in on the joke in hopes that he'll carry on the tradition in memory of his mom.

Retirement hasn't made things any easier. With every day feeling like Saturday, I've lost the familiar rhythm of a Monday through Friday schedule. Without that structure, the days and weeks blur together, slipping by without a trace.

So here I am, on December 15th, scouring the internet for near-perfect gifts to send to family & friends. Thankfully, my brother's family & Mom have sent me their Amazon lists, which makes for easy shopping.

The thought of foregoing a live tree this year makes me a bit sad, and anybody who knows me would be shocked to hear this. When I was in the military, I'd drag my friends out to the nearest mountain to cut down a tree myself.

I carried the tradition into adulthood, and even though the trees may have been smaller, I still preferred a live one. But Christmas is already here. Well, maybe I'll seek out a small Charlie Brown tree.

Adult holidays aren't quite as exciting as childhood holidays, but I still love the spirit of the season.

My most cherished memories of the holiday season come from my childhood, when Grandma & Grandpa were still alive.

My mom is one of seven, and when you factor in the kids, grandkids, extended boyfriends & girlfriends, we've got ourselves a small tribe!

Each Christmas Eve, the whole tribe gathered at Grandma's house. Everyone was happy, slightly influenced by holiday spirits of the liquid kind, and laughter filled the air.

The adults ate & drank while my cousins and I eagerly anticipated the stroke of midnight to open gifts.

Grandma made all of our favorites: posole, tamales, red chili, pastelitos, blue corn enchiladas, beans, tortillas, sopaipilla, and sweet rice. The adults all pitched in to create a gluttonous feast that had us eating all night and into the next day.

My cousins & I could be found circling the Christmas tree like vultures looking for our names on imperfectly wrapped gifts. Well, let me rephrase that, there were so many gifts that there was little room to circle, much less see all the gifts.

Some of us stood on the couch for a bird's-eye view of the gifts under the tree, while others shook those they could access, only to be yelled at, "Leave the presents alone!"

By the time the clock struck midnight, ushering in Christmas Day, some of my cousins had fallen asleep. Not me.

Is that mine? I'd perk up in excitement only to be disappointed.

Maybe the next.

The hours it took to exchange all the gifts were exhausting! I'd be dying in anticipation but would gain a second wind once my name was called, as if I'd drunk a can of Red Bull.

By the time all gifts had been opened and the sun came peeking through the shades, the room was a mess, as though the Tasmanian devil had made a detour through the livingroom.

Wrapping paper was everywhere, discarded like confetti after a parade, remnants of childhood joy.

No matter how tired we were before midnight, my cousins and I were re-energized and lost in our own worlds, playing with new toys & gadgets or sporting new clothes, while the adults headed back to the kitchen to continue their celebration.

Those were the best of times!

When Grandma and Grandpa passed away, we were left to create new traditions, but none compared. Small family gatherings were no match for the days of packing the entire tribe into Grandma's house.

We'd squeeze in there like sardines, with the kids relegated to sitting on the floor or stairs, but there was nothing but love & pure joy.

After graduating from high school, I joined the military. Whenever I returned home for the holidays, we'd gather at my brother's house to continue the Christmas Eve tradition. With my sister-in-law, their three girls, mom, and me, we would fill his living room as we recreated our own family tradition.

If I were away from home, I'd celebrate on my own, with my partner, or with friends, always in full decoration mode with wrapped gifts underneath a live Christmas tree, no matter how small. One year, my gifts were bigger than the tree itself.

The holidays are about memories.

Although the rhythm of the season feels different as I've aged and traditions have changed, the love behind it will always remain the same.

What matters most to me isn't the size of the gathering or the number of gifts under the tree, but the love we share and the memories we create.

The holidays may never be exactly as they were during my childhood, but the spirit of the season remains!

It can be found in the cards I send and receive, the tamales and biscochitos that are sent via FedEx from family members, the exchanges we have on Facebook & Instagram, and the memories we share.

I will always cherish those childhood memories, but look forward to making more. Merry Christmas to you and yours.