All our memories of Christmas past come flooding in at exactly this time of year. We all have both our known and secret memories of this time of year. Some celebrate their recollections. Some, mimicking Dickens' Scrooge (above) may mutter, "Bah, humbug." For them, Christmas is a big disappointment or, perhaps, more bitterly, a fraud.
   I was blessed to grow up in a happy-seeming family with a father who relished Christmas as if he created the American version of its celebration. Dad started building the excitement as soon as November gave way to December. Day after day, he would ask us to guess about particular presents he had created. Of course, he designed the game so that no one could select successfully and everyone would be surprised on Christmas Day.
   On Christmas Eve, presents stored in a special closet would be brought out one by one by my two sisters and me (before my younger brother was born) and placed carefully under the tree. We would be prodded to go to bed early. And in our beds, we would lie sleeplessly until at least midnight, listening carefully for signs of Santa's arrival.
   One night, when I was about eight, I heard Santa. It was a crunching sound. He was crushing the walnuts we had left for him by the fireplace. There was no doubt about it. Of course, my father's injunctions forbade me from entering the living room to check for sure. But, I knew.
   This Christmas, millions of children will pay homage to the same Santa I worshiped as a child. In their imaginations, they will see Santa flying overhead drawn forward across the moon by Rudolph and friends Dasher, Dancer, Donner and Blitzen,Comet, Cupid,and…, who were the rest?
   In hospitals and charities across the nation, Christmas will be a much more poignant occasion. The homeless, often preoccupied with alcohol, may seek to anesthetize themselves from the beauty of this event. Battered spouses may spend another night in fear. Those awaiting surgery or diagnosed as terminally ill may wonder if this Christmas will be their last.
   Living near the vulnerable, caregivers will attend to the needs of those whose lives have been weakened by illness or injury. Most Americans, growing up in a country where the majority celebrate Christmas, will experience a time of remembering Christmas past as well as celebrating Christmas present. Some will recall the epiphany of Scrooge and will discover that now is the time for open hearts, for embracing compassion, and for living Love.

   How does Christmas appear to you, as a caregiver, this year?