Dear Family;
This year will be my sixty-fourth Christmas. I would like to share some of my most
memorable Christmas mornings. These
memories bring lots of emotions, smiles to my face and sometimes tears to my
eyes.
The first Christmas I remember happened when I was four
years old. We lived in the south end of
Star Valley, Wyoming in a place called “Forest Dell.” That morning under the Christmas tree I found
a brand new tricycle. It was bright red
and I was so excited. I think I forgot
all about every other gift under the tree, even the ones that were waiting for
me to open them!
I climbed on to my new tricycle and began to ride it all
around the house. I road back and forth
from the kitchen to the living room and kept asking my mother how fast I was
going! She kept telling me that I was
going very fast!
My second most memorable Christmas happened when I was seven
years old. We had moved from Murray,
Utah to Grover, Wyoming. We lived on a
ranch. There were milk cows, beef cattle,
horses, pigs, cats and a dog. We had a
Christmas party with lots of my aunts, uncles and cousins. When we got home from the party mom and dad
sent all us kids to bed, but we were too excited to sleep! We just kept talking about what gifts we
might receive in the morning. Eventually,
we went to sleep!
I don’t know how long I had been sleeping when my sister
Eileen started to shake me and woke me up.
She was all excited and told me that Santa Clause had been there and I
should come and see! She had already got
my two brothers, Mel and McKell up, so we all headed to the living room! She was right! There were lots of wrapped packages all
around the Christmas tree, but mama and daddy were still asleep.
My parents were not very happy, it was 1:00 AM and they had
only been in bed a couple of hours! I
don’t remember everything that was said to us but, my mother said to my dad; if
you make them go back to bed they will never sleep now! Dad agreed and so we opened our packages and
then went back to bed. Dad did get me up
that morning to help with the chores on Christmas day. That was the only time we ever got up that
early to open our gifts on Christmas.
I was about eleven when early on Christmas morning my two
younger brothers and I sneaked down earlier than we were supposed to on
Christmas morning to see what was under the tree. We were trying to be very quiet because we
knew that dad would be upset with us if he knew we were awake. We had been warned NOT TO COME DOWN STAIRS
BEFORE 7:30 AM. It was dark in the
living room and we could not see things very well as we sneaked toward the
tree. We were almost to the tree when
one of the boys (I think it was Mel) let out a scream and started to cry! He had stepped on the new electric train
tracks that were laid out on the living room floor! The next thing I knew my dad turned on the
light and we had been caught sneaking a peek at our Christmas presents! He sent us back to bed and told Mel that it
was his own fault! The next morning we
had a great time playing with the train.
When I was fourteen years old I was just old enough to start
playing basketball with our ward team. I
wasn’t a very good player, but I loved the game anyway. I had asked for a basketball. I wanted this
more than anything on earth! Every time
my parents asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I told them I wanted a
basketball!!! They suggested that I
needed shirts and socks, maybe a pair of pants or a new coat and gloves, but I
wasn’t taking any chances! I just kept
telling them that “ALL I WANT IS A BASKETBALL”!
When Christmas morning came “I just knew exactly what I was getting, A
NEW BASKET BALL!” I couldn’t stand the
waiting because I was certain they had bought one and it was hidden some where
in the house and so I tried and tried to find the present I just knew I was
going to get. But, I never found one!
On Christmas morning we all gathered in the living room and
began to open our gifts. I kept
expecting to find my perfect gift, but as each gift was opened, not only did I
not find the ball I expected; I did not find even “ONE” toy! Not one!
When we finished opening all our gifts I was so disappointed
I could hardly hold back my tears. I
kept looking around for a wrapped present with my name on it. I could not imagine that I could not find my
basketball, but there was not one to be found anywhere! I kept looking at my parents but they seemed
preoccupied with all of the other children.
I even looked in the other rooms to see if my special gift had been
hidden somewhere else. I found nothing,
nothing at all!
Finally, as I walked back into the living room my dad said
to me; what’s that thing in between the branches of the tree? I didn’t see it at first! It had been hidden so
well! But there it was; my very own
brand new leather basketball!
I was the happiest fourteen-year-old boy in the entire
universe, or so it seemed! I even
cried! That one gift meant everything to
me at that time. There are some gifts
that mean everything!
I hope all of your Christmas memories are as wonderful as
mine. It is the most special time of the
year. When I think of the gifts I have
received I am so grateful for the love that has been extended to me from each
of you. After sixty-four years I have
learned that the most important gifts I have ever received in my life are each
of you! You give meaning to my very
existence in this world!
I am grateful that Christmas comes every year! This is the time when I look on you and
realized that I want us all to be together for eternity! It is this time when we celebrate the birth
that makes it possible for us to be together forever!
Love, Uncle Layne
