Who is Santa Claus?
In our house, it was always our tradition to put up our Christmas tree right after Thanksgiving. I remember how the Christmas trees changed from real trees to artificial ones. When we went from live trees to a silver aluminum tree, it seemed so different but it was still a festive time for us. We could no longer put the silver tinsels on the tree, but we did put ornaments on. Every year we would decorate with different color Christmas balls. One year we would put on all red ones, then blue, green or gold. We could not put colorful lights on the aluminum tree. We could only use the four-color floor light that would turn the tree red, blue, green or gold as it rotated around the wheel. The tree would look very beautiful once we turned out the room lights and put all the gifts under it.
Our next tradition was to make sure the couch was left free of any items so that Santa could lay out all of our gifts. With three girls, the couch would be full. As the oldest, I would be responsible for making sure everyone got to bed so Santa would be sure to come. If we were found awake, Santa would sprinkle dust in our eyes. So, as I began to help my sisters dress for bed, I would take one final look at the tree with the unopened gifts and turn off the light to dream about that night.
After my sisters fell asleep, I heard someone open the front door. Since we didn’t have a chimney for Santa to come down, I just knew he was coming through the door. I didn’t have the courage to get out of bed and go look, but I did look out of the bedroom window. It was a little bit strange, but I saw my Dad coming up the street with a big bag over his back. I hurried and lay down because I didn’t want Dad to know that I had seen him. I later learned that Mom and Dad would keep our Christmas gifts down the street at my aunt’s house.
Even though I found out that Dad was our Santa Claus, I never revealed it to my sisters. I wanted them to still know that there was a real Santa Claus.
By Rita McCulloch
Rita McCulloch is a mid generation Boomer who saw change and turmoil happen all around her from a vantage point as a young African American woman growing up in Huntsville, Alabama. Yet her focus was on family, community, church and helping others. She began helping seniors with their personal and financial needs as a volunteer while raising her family. She then founded a business, Boomer3Solutions, through which she helps educate, organize, and prepare families for their golden age years and minimize the stress that can be related to caregiving. Rita brings to Boomer Connections a strong background in elder care concerns and the many decisions facing their Boomer family members.