True Santas of Christmas

LITTLE ROCK — The original version of this column was published in December of 2004, but remains just as relevant this morning.

Let us arise from our sofas and easy chairs this Christmas morning and offer a standing ovation to the true Santas of Christmas, those who so willingly, even eagerly, all but sacrifice their holiday to make sure the rest of us enjoy ours.

I’m speaking primarily of all the mothers and grandmothers who have fought the shopping wars in recent weeks to ensure that no family member felt left out of the gift exchange.

They then spent hours wrapping those presents. They are the same ones who made certain each stocking was evenly stuffed before hurrying to the kitchen to prepare a memorable meal for others.

And odds are they are the ones who cleaned up the room after the carnage of gift-giving.

These Santas are likely the ones who made sure the tree got decorated with historical ornaments they likely preserved from Christmases past.

They are the nurturers of Yuletide who see that the dining table to accommodate the holiday meal they’ve been cooking is attractively set. More often than not, they soon will be elbow-deep in the exhausting aftermath of cleaning up after others have gorged and celebrated.

What would Christmas Day be like in most families without the member who cares enough to rise the earliest and likely will be the last to bed tonight?

They are the ones who ungrudgingly put the desires of others before their own needs to make sure everyone has a memorable day. I can tell you from experience that without them, this day would not be what many of us have come to expect-and, unfortunately, often take for granted.

In families across Arkansas, this voluntary servitude has become such a part of Christmas that the caregivers who coordinate all the chaos are prone to take even themselves for granted.

It is unfortunate when that happens, for they are too precious not to be cherished.

I’m betting that for many readers, there is that family member who was up with the sun today to continue the process of making the others happy and well-fed.

It wouldn’t surprise me if she (okay, and the occasional he) is stoveside right now, building some kind of breakfast casserole or baking cinnamon rolls, physically and mentally juggling everything else that might already be bubbling in the oven for later today.

When the awaited time for sharing presents arrives, watch how these true Santas react to the joy and laughter of others. She’s likely to make certain everyone else has their presents first, unless you and the others around her insist that she receive the place of honor she’s earned.

I watched across a lifetime as my now-departed mother and grandmother Santas lovingly accepted all these Christmas pressures with little,if any, appreciation in return.

They obviously found fulfillment in serving our family, but I wish now that I had hugged and thanked them far more than I did when they were alive. In hindsight, I realize that too few of us understood how they almost single-handedly made this day so special for the rest of us.

Most homes have similar stories, yet I seldom see them told. Do you?

These unsung nurturers of our Christmases have cared enough to choreograph and produce such vast productions, set to the simple yet tender theme of caring and sharing.

Because of them, everything-the decorated tree, the background music, the wrapped presents and the meals-seamlessly unfolds before us as if the fabled portly elf himself had merely winked and snapped his fingers.

There’s no doubt in many homes that without these mothers and grandmothers (who, by the way, likely also made certain that this morning’s coffee was brewed), so many wonderful Christmas days would never have materialized.

Why not take a minute today to thank your real Santa, heck, perhaps even read this column aloud to her in honor of all of the energy she has devoted to enriching your life at Christmas? Seal any genuine appreciation you feel with a tip of the glass and some richly deserved tender embraces.

You must admit that such remarkable selflessness in this world of “me first” is the real stuff of Christmas, anddeserves nothing less than our fullest and most sincere appreciation. -

Mike Masterson’s column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at mikemasterson10@hotmail.com. Read his blog at mikemastersonsmessenger.com.