A White Christmas

I don’t know about all of you but I like a white Christmas. There is something about a gentle snowfall on Christmas Eve and waking up to snow on Christmas Day. Snow and the color white are pure and for me it just better represents how crisp and beautiful nature can be. I don’t want a blizzard or even a multitude of snow…but a few inches make things seem simple and clean.

As a kid hunting was a big part of my heritage and honestly I loved to see some snow because it always made it easier to hunt rabbits…which seemed to be the game of choice back then. It wasn’t uncommon for me to take a long walk on Christmas morning or afternoon in search of bunnies. That might sound a bit un-traditional but I think it got me out of the house and out from under foot while all the cooking and preparation was being done. I can still remember a Christmas Day hunt when I was a teen that led me from our house over hill and dale….through the woods….and back again with a passel of rabbits in the back portion of my vest. The part I best remember is being in a wooded area with a boat load of wild grapes and grapevines and as the snow fell down around me I just sat down and took in the peacefulness of what was going on around me. The only noise I could hear was the whine and bark of one of our beagles as it worked a rabbit around and through the same woods. It might even surprise a teen or two today….but I didn’t even need a phone, I pad, video game or anything to have a great time!

It is honestly very odd what you remember from your childhood and frankly mine was as good as it gets…loaded with good memories, so many having to do with hunting, fishing or just being outside! One particular Christmas (I think I was 13) I wanted a new bike…you remember as a kid when you wanted something so much that you would devise a plan to get it by saving a quarter a week for the rest of your life? I not only wanted a new bike but needed a new bike as it was one of my only forms of travel and living in the country….public transportation wasn’t a thought. So…this Christmas, like many others, I was very much into the guessing of gifts that were under the tree; looking back now it was one of the areas where I excelled in problem solving…weight, shape, texture, they all added up to a certain gift. My dad knew that I was wanting a bike, but under the tree was a gift with my name on it and it was heavy, rectangular and shaped like that of a gun box. To say the least that really got me going and I could see it now…my own automatic shotgun, probably a .410 for hunting rabbits, vented rib…I am starting to sound like Ralphie in The Christmas Story but I swear it was true! Anyway the old curmudgeon deflected my thoughts from a bike to the heir apparent….a new shotgun. Well, Christmas morning rolled around and as usual I tore into the presents and tried to be coy with all of them…one by one, right down the list I was spot on with all the gifts (all of my pre-season scouting had paid off in 100% accuracy). Then the moment of truth as the only gift left was “The Box”…one rip of the paper and sure enough Remington popped up! I quickly removed the rest of the paper and noticed that the box itself wasn’t stapled like it should be…what was going on? Remington doesn’t use scotch tape to close their boxes? Then it happened, I opened the box and there before me was an old baseball bat…my own bat to boot! I had been had and frankly I still remember that I wasn’t happy at all! I pushed the box away and looked at dad who now had a Cheshire cat smile upon his face. OK…bravo, you got me; the next few minutes were tense and then mom saved the day as she took a card from deep within the bowels of the tree and handed it to me (frankly I never thought to look upwards and would modify my search of gifts from then forward). I sheepishly opened the card and there on the card it said something very simple, “Go look on Betty Jean’s front porch”. I threw on my shoes and ran the ¼ of a mile to our neighbor’s house. I don’t remember all the next few minutes as things of this caliber seem to blur your memory…but there on the front porch was a new Schwinn ten speed bike. It was green and it sparkled and I was thrilled! I thanked my neighbors (who were obviously in on the prank) and carefully rode down the hill back to home.

The thing I do remember is that on my short ride home it was spitting snow and the ground was white…and while I had been through a roller-coaster of emotions I was riding a new bike! Still to this day it is one of my fondest memories of Christmas…I was ‘punked’ by my own dad!

My hope for you this Christmas is that you can take some time to slow down and enjoy the time with others…if that means a room full of seldom seen relatives, then so be it, but take some time to go for a walk and focus on the true meaning in CHRISTmas and I hope you get a gift or two that may just make it a better 2013… to better Enjoy the Great Outdoors.