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For this Christmas edition of the Dodgeville Chronicle, I was charged with contacting people from the area that I thought might have an interesting Christmas memory to share. As I expected, every person described a different memory, which have all been compiled in this week's Spotlight on page 14.
I read through each one, picturing what it might have been like opening that special gift, listening to the Christmas choirs, etc. I was surprised to see that two stories mentioned the gift of a pony for Christmas, something that I had only dreamed of as a young girl!
I could almost feel the excitement as I read Al Wright's memory. We've all asked Santa for large and often unobtainable gifts for Christmas but that Christmas many years ago, Al got just what he asked for. It brought a smile to my face.
In Elaine Schaaf's Christmas memory, she too remembered receiving a pony. Her father must have done a good job hiding it from Elaine and her siblings, even bringing it inside and disguising it near the tree! What an unforgettable memory!
My significant other and I walked the aisles of Target this weekend, looking for the perfect gifts for everyone on our lists. Most importantly, we needed to find something special for his niece and nephew.
As we browsed the aisles lined with electronic gadgets and unnecessary and expensive toys for children, I thought of the Christmas stories I collected for the Chronicle, specifically remembering the gifts that everyone had remembered even after all those years. Would Jamie's nephew receive a pony this year? Probably not. But I hoped that something he received would live up to the same excited moment when Elaine spotted that pony near the Christmas tree or that moment Jim Massey discovered in the barn that his parents bought him a go-cart for Christmas.
Big or small, I hope everyone makes a Christmas memory this year, even if it's just the pleasure of getting to watch your nephew unwrap a Nerf dart gun, something you unwrapped and enjoyed when you were a child, or getting to stay up late with your own children, watching as they anxiously wait to see if Santa put their "pony" under the tree this year.