Monday, December 17, 2007

"I Believe In Santa Clause"

As we prepared to crawl in bed the butterflies in my stomach seemed to flutter quicker and with more determination. It was Christmas Eve and we had opened the gifts from Momma and Daddy, had a little party of assorted homemade candies, snacks and green punch. It was now time to go to bed and try to sleep amid the ears staining to hear the prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As the house quieted down for the night the stillness seemed to stir restlessness more than induce sleep. Melinda was in her bed across the room and I lay listening to her breathing. “Melinda, are you sleeping?” I whispered just incase Santa was near. “No, I can’t sleep. What time do you think it is?” came her reply. “It has to be almost morning” I assured her, “We have been laying here for hours.” As Melinda crept out of bed she tiptoed into Momma and Daddy’s room to see if we could get up.

Melinda came in and I could tell by the way she threw the covers back and crawled into bed that it wasn’t time to get up. “It’s only 12:15” she said with disgust, “and Santa hasn't come yet.” As I snuggled down deeper in the covers I watched the different shadows on the wall made by the bathroom light.

“Monalea, Monalea I think Santa’s come. I really think I heard him." As I peeked my head out I tried to make sense of her words. I had been asleep, actually asleep on one of the most important nights of the years. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, “Quick go ask Momma if Santa has come.” As Melinda once again crept from the warm bed and made her way into Momma’s room I strained to hear the exchange of words. “It’s only 3:45 and Momma says we can’t get up yet” Melinda said in a fretful voice as she climbed back into bed. She didn’t seem to notice the chill in the air. And then with excitement in her voice she exclaimed, “Do you know what that means?” “It means Santa Clause has come.”

Santa had come; and the living room was now full of toys? My heart skipped a beat. As I lay imagining all the magic alive in that room my mind raced. This was the longest night of my life.

When I awoke next Melinda was standing beside my bed shaking me. “Quick, it’s 5:30 and Momma says we can get up and see what Santa Clause brought.” I threw back the covers, slipped off the bed and she and I raced to the living room where lights twinkled and Christmas magic made things come to life.

As I sank down beside my stocking filled with treasures and nestled my new baby doll close I sat blinking at all the wonder. “Look, I told you I heard Santa Clause” Melinda said as she pointed at the muddy boot print left on the carpet. “Daddy has pointed toe boots and Santa Clause has rounded toe boots.” She was right, as I examined the muddy boot print and Daddies boots left by the front door, they were different. Santa Clause had been here!

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I remember the night also, in your
excitment it almost made me believe again until I remembered that I knew Santa personally and he tracked in mud frequently. I've always enjoyed Christmas and wish I could be with you.

Unknown said...

I bet it was a wonderful time, and you always have a great and colorful imagination! haha I can just see the night! Brings back memories of my own sneaking down the stairs and thinking no one else can hear the giggles and running back upstairs to wake up the other cousins and brothers and sisters! lol
love you and glad your better!
sandy

Anonymous said...

Muddy boot print, huh? Great idea!

******Glad you're back!******

Neva said...

I think while it is important to believe in santa, the most important thing is that he believes in you! :)
I sure missed ya!

Peace
neva

Stacie said...

What a sweet story, it is great to see you are back to posting. You were missed!

Anonymous said...

Welcome back! I love the picture! I think I had at least one of those nights when I was young too...The joy of working the past 10 or so years in a house with up to 10 kids in it made it difficult for Santa to make it in our place though! He started asking for Big Red at our house and carrots for his reindeers!

Anonymous said...

Santa already came to our house! My son is back!

Love,
Davlyn

Monalea said...

anonymous (Mom), I'm glad you knew Santa personally. He was a great guy! We will be together next Christmas.

Sandy, Memories.....wonderful blessings from God.

nb, I'm glad I'm back too! Thanks

Neva, You always have words of wisdom.

Stacie - Thanks

anonymous - 10 kids, Wow what a blessing. Demanding Big Red and Carrots??? I think I would demand something other than that.

Davlyn - What an awesome gift. Love you!

Monalea

David Kirk said...

Our house believes in Santa Claus too

Anonymous said...

oh the good old days... i remember crazy days like that....
oh guess what. santa is coming really soon, 4 more sleeps :)


bekah :)

preacherman said...

I believe.
The Polar Express is an incredible movie that showed me that no matter how old that it is okay to believe.

Kara said...

growing up i always convinced myself that christmas would fix everything...no matter what was wrong christmas would fix it...my hope was sky high...after christmas, when everything stayed the same, i plummeted. i finally realized (!) at age 45 that it doesn't work that way (i know, i'm a little slow, huh?!!!). i think now i can enjoy the future holidays without so many expectations... i LOVE your blog, Monalea!! and i'm going to try to do better at staying up with it!!!! i love you so much....

preacherman said...

I want you to know that I am praying for you sister. Know that God is with you and that he will give you the strength you need. You are so special to many and have been an encouragement in my life over this past year as I have suffered with depresion, serious pain, and stages of when I couldnt even walk. I want to thank you.
Keep blogging. It so inspiring and encouraging.
In Him,
Kinney Mabry

Kara said...

i feel like i need to do a follow up on my comment re. Christmas... didn't mean to sound like a downer or to take away from the excitement of your WONDERFUL story, Monalea...it's just that i so took it to an unrealistic extreme...i REALLY thought santa would fix everything....i put more faith in santa than i did God - even recently!! but not anymore...my faith lies TOTALLY in God...my faith and my trust and for me that is a BIGGIE!!!! so now, i can go to sleep Christmas Eve with true excitement and a realistic dream that santa - as well as Rudolph (!) - is on his way......hope that makes sense...love you bunches, Monalea...

Anonymous said...

Beautifully written and remembered; your story brought back memories of long, long, ago.Thank you. Glad you're feeling better. Love ya.

Monalea said...

Bekah, counting down for Santa is as exciting as when he actually comes.

Preacherman, Polar Express was an excellent movie.

Kinney, your words were inspirational to me. Thank you so much for the prayers and encouragement.

Kara, Christmas was a time when you could escape from worries and step into a world of magic. I didn't take your comment as negative at all. I love you too. Maybe I should be more diligent about blogging. It's just crazy around here.

Stan, your comment means a lot to me since you are an author. Thanks and love you!

Monalea