Like the Cobwebs of My Mind

Memories are such tricky things.

I was sure my siblings and I sat through the Beatles' move Help! twice when we visited my grandmother.

But two siblings debunked my memory.

I recall once telling my dad that I was upset he left me in the car on Broadview Hill when the car ran out of gas. He was horrified, and said he never would have left me in the car alone. Obviously, it was a nightmare I had that was so real, my brain stored it as a memory.

So what's true and what's fiction? Can our memories be trusted for anything?

If you sit a group of family members down and bring up an incident, you'll get as many different takes on what happened as you do family members. At least, as far as the details are concerned. We all color our memories with our own perspective. Whether something is funny or tragic depends on how our minds have chosen to spin a particular memory.

And some memories are just false. So what do we do?

I guess we just accept the fact that not everything we recall is 100% fact. We keep the good stuff and let go of the the bad stuff, if we can. After all, no one is going to publish a biography of me, so whatever memories I have are purely for my own entertainment.

So I will enjoy my Christmas memories. 

Listening to the Beatles' Michelle while gazing at the Christmas tree, lit up with the large, colorful bulbs that were popular (before they were recognized as a fire hazard).

Sitting through 6 a.m. mass, the anticipation of opening presents almost too much to bear.

My parents, coffee cups in hand, watching us unwrap our myriad presents.

Starting our own traditions with our son. Setting up a countdown wreath with miniature candy bars on it (like my Mom's). Picking out a live tree and decorating it. Watching A Child's Christmas in Wales on Christmas Eve. Leaving cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer. Hanging stockings on the mantel. Clutching a cup of hot coffee and watching our son open his gifts on Christmas morning. 

All memories to cherish. 

As for things like bickering with siblings over placement of tinsel and ornaments or the proper technique for decorating cookies or the angst of getting a Christmas tree perfectly positioned – well, those things are part of Christmas, too. But things that we can laugh about now, with the passage of time.

May your memories of holidays past be happy and may you all be safe and happy, whether you're celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Festivus, Kwanza – or you're sitting this one out.