Favorite Christmas memory, 2005

The neatest thing that happened this Christmas occurred at my brother and sister-in-law's house on Christmas afternoon. Their new house looked absolutely beautiful, there was a Chris Isaac Christmas CD on in the background, and my entire family was gathered around. One of us called someone a Scrooge, and Cade, my 4-year-old nephew, wanted to know what that meant. I started telling him the story of A Christmas Carol. Watching his little excited, interested face, and realizing that everyone got quiet and started listening to me - I tried to make it as magical and memorable as the first time I remember watching the movie as a kid. The scary parts were good and scary, I played down the Tiny Tim part a little, but really played up the end when Ebeneezer is transformed into a better person. Since I don't have kids yet, I didn't realize I could tell a story like that without the help of a book. And when I finished, Cade said, "Read it again, read it again!", which I thought was the ultimate complement, coming from someone I love so much. One day we'll read the book together.