White Christmas




	WRITE 2 THE HEART Stories that are aimed "Write 2 the Heart" December 19, 2002 Cheryl Speir, Editor, moderator@write2theheart.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to your latest issue of "Write 2 the Heart" ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ Christmas memories are rarely made up of the gifts we receive, but of events and moments of wonder. Diane writes of a wondrous event she shared with her family when she was a child. ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ White Christmas By Diane Dean White ------------------------------------------------------------- As a child I was raised in Michigan, a state that gives you hot summers, cooled by the breezes from the many lakes in all directions. It allowed me to enjoy sunny and colorful fall days and crisp evenings. In the Season of Joy, and often before Thanksgiving, the ground was covered with a beautiful blanket of white. Spring time arrived in all her glory, with tulips, daffodils, iris's, and numerous shades of lilacs weighing down the branches of the trees. A fragrant scent that reminds me how much the change of Seasons are enjoyed. My husband's work has taken us south now, and although there are beautiful things in this area, flowers that continue to bloom, an ocean with the taste of salt that we take beach walks along, yet in December it just doesn't feel like home! When Christmas approaches my mind goes back to a special time when I was perhaps 8 years old, and a child growing up in East Lansing, Michigan. We had a variety of activities in the area, at the college, at the schools, and the community itself. What I remember most was an evening after Dad got home, going into Lansing. This was in December and probably a couple of weeks away from Christmas Day. My younger brother and I often went to the stores, but usually around this time of year we had already given our list to Santa and wouldn't be shopping along with Mom and Dad. On this cold evening we were looking for something in the large department store, which during the 50's always had a variety of things to sell. I remember watching a train that was quite an attraction. It held miniature milk jugs on one of the cars, unloading them at a depot. The tracks seemed to travel around the whole store. There were Christmas decorations while music played everywhere. When we left the store, we walked across the street to one of the main theaters in town. The movie that my parents took us to see was quite popular, "White Christmas." We didn't go out to movies a lot during those days and this was very special. I remember the beautiful scenes with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye singing, and the other actresses who made the foursome complete. I thought going to an Inn like they were at would be wonderful. At the end of the movie all the actors started singing the song "White Christmas." I had always been around snow at Christmas time, however, we hadn't had any for a few days. That evening when we left the theater, we expected to have cold weather, but nothing could have prepared us for the downfall of snowflakes that had fallen while we were inside. It was like a magic wonderland, especially after seeing that movie, it made the evening so memorable for me. As a child, and through a child's eyes, that was a simple, but beautiful experience. It was a family night, just the four of us and has remained in my heart for many years now. Whenever I hear the song "White Christmas" I'm reminded of that evening and the beauty of the snowfall on Washington Avenue in Lansing, Michigan so very long ago. "May your days be merry and bright, and may all your Christmases be White." Diane Dean White Thelamb212 @ aol.com (You are encouraged to write to the authors to let them know what you think of their story, just remember to remove the space before and after the @ symbol. The space is placed in the address to protect our writers from viruses and email harvesting programs. Have a comment on today's story? Send it to: moderator@write2theheart.com) ---------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------- Letters From Our Readers -------------------------------------------------------------- Mary-Ellen reminded me of my children's school parties. There was always so much food and fun. It was hard to keep the kids attention on school work when they knew there would soon be a party. They always came home with bags of candy and fun stories to share. Jan --------------------------------------------------------------- Cheryl's Corner The anticipation is building at my house. David wants to shake his gifts to try and guess what they are. I have told him that if he does, he will break it before he can even play with it. I did a foolish thing. I bought a coo-coo clock and it is driving everyone crazy. I thought it would be nostalgic, but it is just plain annoying. So I hung it in the boys' bathroom. Merry Christmas everyone! Cheryl ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- © 2002 Write 2 the Heart Nothing may be reproduced or published without the written permission of the individual author or copyright owner. All rights belong to the authors. --------------------------------------------------------------- All subscriptions sent to your e-mail free of charge.