MERRY CHRISTMAS.

i am sitting in my sister's house, surrounded by my family. presents piled high around the tree and the low buzz of excitement makes me remember all those many christmases as a child-- it just never came fast enough.

as i reminisce about christmas, my memory always takes me to the christmas day to top all other chrismas days. the one that is always remembered with fondness and much laughter. the day santa took our presents to the wrong house!

it was the winter of 1986 and the only other thing i can remember about that christmas was the fact that we had some old family friends get remarried in our home and so there were a lot of extra people.

just like every year, the deming brats all crowded into the same room on christmas eve, in attempt to sleep before santa came. in all reality we would laugh and giggle until dad would come in for the 11th time and threaten to tell santa to move on and not come to our house. i guess this particular year we must have been extra giggly because that following morning around 5am whitney, roger and i were awakened by the sound we never expected to hear. the doorbell was ringing.

we raced out of the room to find our dad just closing the door with a small object in his hand. dad turned in amazement and explained to us that he had just been paid a visit from one of santa's elves and he dropped off a letter addressed to the deming kids. we freaked! dad suggested we open the special letter in the family room. NOTHING could have prepared us for what we saw.

stopped dead in our tracks we could only stare at the barren tree that sat before us. not a single present to be found. nothing.

confusion, disappointment, anger.

awakened from our daze from our father encouraging us to read the letter. we broke the seal of the scroll and whitney was put to the task of reading our fate.

the letter read that santa had made a big mistake and accidentally taken our presents to the wrong house. included in the letter were directions to where we would find our gifts. luckily he had returned and filled our stockings, so at least we had something to discover. yet the stocking seemed like a small consolation prize and didn't quite have the luster of a new shiny gift. we were not happy, or excited. we felt much like the who's down in whoville- yet we did not gather 'round the christmas tree and join in song. and here's the proof:

we seemed to be the only car on the streets that morning. bundled as a family in our winter coats, our station wagon was overflowing with the energy of the morning.

i actually have no idea how mom and dad kept straight faces as we followed the directions to our prize.

"if the kids in that other house open our presents, i'm going to be so mad!"

"yeah, we should take their presents if they take ours!"

"what if they won't give our presents back, what if they think they get to keep them?"

when we finally reached the unfamiliar house, we were nervous. we didn't know what to think or to expect. dad had to nudge us forward, no one would move forward.

to our surprise, our older brother john opened the door. JOHN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE???

so it seems, john had moved into a new apartment that we had never been to and santa took all of the deming kids' presents to older brother deming's house! DUH SANTA!

that year my belief in santa was set in stone. he's real i promise!

MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008!

CHRISTMAS- part eleven


the ghost of christmas past.




sorry to all of the adoring fans that couldn't wait for this year's craptacular-- it just didn't happen. who knows, maybe there's a valentine's day show in our future!!!

CHRISTMAS- part ten


oh it's just not christmas without a little PERRY COMO in my life!

well you see- my parents are old fogies (hi mom and dad i love you!) and they grew up to music that most kids my age grandparents' listened to! perry como, being one of them.

so some of my most favorite memories come from the quiet nights just before bedtime when the 5 deming brats would turn off all the lights, except for the ones on the tree and dance around to perry como's christmas album as the fire in the fireplace died.

oh how i loved listening to him croon my silent night away and march as he ra pum pa pum pummed me into acting like the little drummer boy. with the tree glistening from all the tinsel dad insisted be on the tree, we would be whisked away to merry christmas land via mr. como!

here's just a small sampling of my childhood and i can't get enough of how perry breaks when he sings the last "soon it will be christmas DAY"

listen for it- AWESOME!!!

CHRISTMAS- part nine


i go home in a little over a week. i am so excited to see the babies that have grown and play lots and lots with my family. i will even be reunited with old friends that had fallen by the wayside.

but here's one of the reasons i CAN'T WAIT to be in utah!

http://www.alta.com/

CHRISTMAS- part eight


my roommate and i put up christmas lights in our home today and it somehow managed to make the ugly old place feel a little more like christmas.

as i looked around my shabby old apartment, i realized that i am living in a charlie brown christmas this year. with high hopes of making something truly spectacular out of my christmas, all i've managed to do is conjure up some christmas cheer equivalent to charlie brown's tree.

but as i sat admiring my humble decorations, i also recognized another charlie brown parallel to my 2007 christmas season. you remember at the end, when charlie gets his small tree he's joined by all of his friends who gather around him and join in song! this year i have been surrounded by some of the best friends a girl could ever hope for. friends who have been so supportive- i've been so lucky.

so who cares that i am poorer than a church mouse, i've got my amazing friends singing in a half circle around my christmas tree this year!

CHRISTMAS- part seven


so this whole weekend has been filled with christmas concerts and such. i went to the urban nutcracker, i saw yo-yo ma perform the most amazing modern pieces i've heard in such a long time and i went to the annual relief society christmas concert. phew i am so tired and filled to the brim with holiday cheer!

back in the utah day i belonged to a fantastic choir, the sterling singers, with a lot of really great theater friends and was directed by the dearest kelly d. kelly has always had a knack for picking amazing music and his passion for the messages in each song carried over into the way we sang them. i loved our concerts at christmastime. we always sang on temple square in the assembly hall and it adds to the magic of the music.

tonight as i listened to the amazing numbers that were performed by my fellow sisters, i was reminded of a few of my most favorite songs i sang in the sterling singers.


it took me a while to find a decent version of this song- but i found one.

o magnum mysterium

magnificat

CHRISTMAS- part six

so yesterday i took russ to eadaville railroad for our date. i'd only been one time before, a long time ago, and i was reminded how magical this place was at christmastime. because it was raining (until it turned into snow), we ran for cover in the main building where we found a gift shop and little displays and even santa clause. in the corner of this little building- a TRAIN. we watched for a very long time as this model-locomotive made it's way around the tiny christmas village, before we went on an actual real-life-sized train to see the christmas lights.

instantly, i was reminded of my dad's christmas train.

(this is not an actual deming tree or train)

every year as my mom got out the decorations and we all gathered around in excitement at the arrival of the tree, my dad would busy himself with his train. i think it was only about 6 cars long and fairly large for a toy train, but oh how i loved hearing the sound it would make as it carted it's wares around and around our christmas tree.


i can still hear the sound the whistle would make or the way a computerized voice would call the passengers to board when you pushed a small button. i still remember the way we would lay on our stomachs and watch as it went around and around- a perfect opportunity to let my imagination conjure up stories about where the train had just come from and where it was headed. i can still hear the clanging of the tiny bell as it trudged along.


dear santa- i would like a toy train for christmas this year.

CHRISTMAS- part five


i absolutely LOVE walking outside at night in the wintertime. especially if it just snowed. the snow seems to absorb all the sound and the cold night makes you bundle close and it can be so peaceful.

it's a total added bonus if:

you have peppermint gum in your mouth- the smell mixed with the cold is awesome.
you have someone you care about walking with you and you both let the stillness become part of the experience
someone has decided to burn a fire in their home and the smell is dancing all around you
you don't have to be any place in a hurry and/or it's not freezing cold so you can enjoy taking your time and taking in the moment.

CHRISTMAS- part four

the sled memory.

i probably have a gazillion (real word) sledding memories. like the time i broke my leg trying to go down a very dangerous sled-run that my brother and all his friends were doing. or that one time in jr. high, when anna schmidt and i were on an inner tube and trying to sled behind the jolley's house-- totally treacherous. i messed up my arm pretty badly.

but these horrid memories actually cannot outdo the one sledding memory to rule them all.

back in the day, so jo utah used to be pretty rural. comparatively speaking... it still is... but it was even more so when i was still wearing side pony-tails. so i lived in a neighborhood filled to the brim with kids of all ages and plenty of open fields to play in. in the summers, those fields were where the battles between girls and boys happened and in the winter they turned into our veritable winter wonderland!

it always seemed a mad rush to get the winter gear on, once we got the phone call that charlie dilliar was getting out his snow-mobile. coats and hats and boots would fly as we'd race to ready ourselves to brave the cold. then as fast as we could, trek up the street to the field just behind the dilliars' home and wait for the fun to begin.

charlie who was the father to his only child, adam (whit's age), had all sorts of toys. a boat for skiing and fishing, an rv for cross country trips, a collection of 4-wheelers and a few snow mobiles.

one of charlie's favorite things to do, in the winter, was to put the word out the the snow-mobiles were coming out.

now because of the quantity of kids, this wasn't a typical- stand in line and wait for a turn for charlie to take us around... oh no... this was so much BETTER!

everyone was in charge of bringing their own sled and rope. then we would all line up and find some way of attaching ourselves to the line of sleds behind the vehicle. at one time we probably had at least 20 kids all hooked up. once ready, charlie would pull us all over the vast so jo fields, up onto the canal road to the huge open field that was just south of our neighborhood.

then for at least an hour of good solid fun, charlie would play crack-the-whip and we'd all giggle and laugh with delight as we'd watch the brave older boys get thrown from their sleds as we came speeding around the turn. then it was back to the neighborhood, where as if he were giving his big roaring machine a cool-down, would tow us all over the fields in the back of the houses. this was always my favorite part.

i would pull my hat over my face and close my eyes, trying not to think about my frost-bitten hands, i would let my imagination roam. then as charlie approached my house, roger would give a shout to let me know it was time to un-hitch and we'd race back home for some hot chocolate.

seriously, does anyone have a snow-mobile and some sleds? and thank you charlie dilliar, where ever you are!

CHRISTMAS- part three


i am a huge sucker for christmas specials. it was a much bigger deal in the 80's than it is today. i remember my dad getting that long awaited addition to the sunday paper that had all the specials listed for the enitre holiday season. we would gather around and highlight all of the shows we intended to watch: miracle on 34th street, it's a wonderful life, john denver's christmas special. not to mention all of the made for tv movies that were created to tug at the christmas heart-strings.

but of course, i do have my all-time favorites. the ones we had recorded onto any available vhs we could find. and then we watch them over and over again as they filled our minds and hearts with christmasy goodness!

i leave with you a brief selection. oh what fun it is to watch!

CHRISTMAS- part two


the salvation army bell has to be one of my most favorite sounds during the christmas season.

today as i walked the streets of harvard sq, i heard the distant clanging from across the street. there's something familiar and nostalgic about the bell and the little red bucket. i love grabbing all of my change from my recent christmas purchases and hearing the 'clink' as the money joins up with others' past donations.

CHRISTMAS - part one


for the next few weeks i will submerge myself and my thoughts into the land of snowflakes and candy canes. i will indulge my inner child and bask in the holiday's warm glow of goodness. what fun!

sunday night i had a rare opportunity to sit quietly in my home for a few hours and do nothing- before i was to be picked up for the evening's festivities! i was also, in a rare moment, home alone. i filled the silence with just one thing... the mormon tabernacle choir's christmas music.

pre mac wilberg, the choir seemed a little dry for my taste. but with the addition of the symphony and mac's beautiful variations on some old-time favorites, the mo-tab has become one of my favorite things about the christmas season.

then i looked outside and noticed that we were having our first official snow of the year, and it was beautiful. so i turned off the lights and watched the light fall of the snow. i was reminded of my love for doing this as a kid. i would find the nearest street lamp and look out to see if it was snowing. i was grateful for this moment of stillness, for the opportunity to make thing slow down in my world for a minute and enjoy the smallest of moments.

YESTERDAY... all MY troubles seemed so far away.



it was actually a few days ago now that i received a rather odd phone call from a friend out here in boston. something about needing me to go with him to florida that night to help pick up a girl and take her to just outside of DC.

huh?


so i called him back and got the scoop, called my work and 3 1/2 hours after the first call, i was headed to the airport- florida bound. random.


turns out that david works for a youth transport company, helping families escort their troubled teen to a boarding school or detox place. this particular transfer happened to be a girl, and he needed someone of the opposite gender to go along- for all the obvious reasons.


while at the airport, i got the debriefing.

+ kristin (names and some details changed to protect the innocent)
+ age 16
+ currently lives with extended relatives in florida
+ she is no longer welcome there due to bad and rebellious behavior
+ the family is rather poor and all of the aunts and uncles and grandma and grandpa have all gotten their money together to pay for us to come and get her.
+ being shipped back to her mother just outside of DC
+ mother does not know she is coming
+ kristin does not know we are coming
+ on RED alert for the following: violence, vulgarity, obstinance.
+ she has escaped juvanile detention and detox before
+ she will probably attempt to escape us (but we have restraints provided, just in case)

the plan: pick her up at 1:30 am, take her from her home in ft. lauderdale, drive 3 hours to orlando, get on a plane to DC, drive an hour and a half to the drop off point, drive back to DC, get on plane to boston, be home by thursday evening.

what did i just get myself into? i'm not trained in this kind of stuff! and how long am i going to be traveling with this possibly dangerous girl? what do i do if she tries to hurt me? yikes. that'll teach me to help out a friend in need ever again!

ft. lauderdale: it's so humid i feel like we've just walked into a sauna. sheesh! and i thought new england was bad! we pick up the rental and eventually meet one of the family members outside of the tiny trailer park. they show us where to go and direct us to just walk in.

wait a minute- so you're not going to go in with us? you're not going to explain to her why these two strangers are coming into her home and taking her away? WHAT?!?!?

so david took the lead, walked through the door and scared the crap out of kristin. rightfully so. fear quickly turned to anger when she saw that there were two of us and heard that our purpose for being there was to take her back to her mother.

kristin:
call the cops, i'm not going with you!
i've escaped people like you before
stan (uncle who was the only family member awake)- go wake up grandma and grandpa and ask them if they know anything about this (stan said nothing)
how do i know you guys are for real?

us:
we have a flight to catch- we need to go. you can either help us out, or we'll have to restrain you.


kristin:
i'm not going anywhere with you! (jumps up on her bed)
i will do anything not to get on that plane- i'll scream rape- i'll scream i have a bomb
you don't even know- i'm not going anywhere. i will jump out of the car while your driving it- i've done it before, i've got marks all over my body from when i did it before.
who called you to tell you to come- i don't even know you!

us:
janice called us. she would like us to take you to your mom. should i pack for you?

kristin:
you're not touching my stuff!
besides- my mom won't let me come home- she doesn't want me there. she won't even let me get one foot in the door!
stan- do you know about this? (stan remains silent)

us:
really, kristin it's time to go. you have two choices right now: 1- you can come with us and sort all of this out with your mom when we get there or 2- we will have to restrain you and carry you out. and we would rather not do that.

kristin:
fine- restrain me- i'll get out of them!

david starts toward her.

kristin:
FINE- but just let me pack my own (crap) and let me have a cigarette- you guys are freakin' me out!


it only took her a few moments to decide to leave all of her stuff and grab 4 items to take with her. once in the car the tension broke just a bit. kristin used a lot of humor to deal with the situation, which i pointed out. i told her it takes only the best kind of people to be able to laugh when life sucks.

the three hour car ride was, in a word, interesting. it was rainy for most of the time i was behind the wheel- the scary kind of rain where you can't see much- and that didn't seem to help kristin calm down one bit. she talked non-stop for at least 2 hours. she was angry and i did my best to validate that- she had every right to be angry about what just happened to her. in those two hours she continued to hide behind her tough girl image- she managed to ask me if i liked looking at women because she knew of this really great strip joint we could go to, told us of her many deals she made hustling women, how she hated authority and that's why she couldn't do school and finally said "yeah i was just born with a lot of satan inside of me."


i almost jumped out of my seat and quickly retorted "kristin don't you dare say that again- that is so not true." she giggled a little and said she guessed so. bingo- the defenses started to crumble- i saw a weak spot and she was aching for someone to notice.


it wasn't long before she let her guard all the way down and began acting like any other 16 year-old kid. she started squealing over the pictures in david's phone, singing along with me to alicia keys and talking about boys and friends that she had where we were headed. it also started to dawn on her that her whole family must have known what was happening to her- you could hear it in her voice- the pain.


with an hour to go, david and i switched places and he took his place behind the wheel. i offered my lap for kristin to sleep in and she immediately snuggled up at the suggestion. i couldn't help but think about my own mom in times that were scary for me and how sometimes just sitting really close to her made all the difference. it saddened me to think that this sweet girl was willing to snuggle up to anyone willing to offer. she was just like all of us and needed kindness in this very freaky time. my heart began to ache for her. we then talked a lot about life. what she wanted to be when she grew up. how she came to be where she is today. it was like a slumber party and we giggled and talked until she finally fell asleep.


making it to the airport was the easy part. reining in kristin once we got there was another story. she was really hyper. and my fear was that she would use this opportunity to run. we were still on high alert, so getting on that plane and watching them close the doors was the biggest relief of the moment. finally my body was able to relax. luckily there weren't many people willing to fly at 6:15 am and we all ended up with our own row. i put my head down and before we had even taken off, i was asleep.


two hours later we were in DC. as we drove the final hour and a half, kristin again became agitated- her language became vulgar again and she began to complain about everything and threatened that she needed to throw up. a few jokes and some changes of topic and she had calmed down again- but you could clearly see how nervous she was as we encroached upon her old home-town... the one she was no longer welcome in.

to cut to the chase- mom wasn't home and not answering her phone. we finally got a hold of mom's boyfriend and arranged to drop her off at his work. saying goodbye to my new friend was a sobering moment. what was going to happen to this girl that no one wanted? where would she end up? would there be any chance that she would change her life around and come out on top? before the final hug goodbye- she handed me her email address and asked me to stay in touch. i felt honored and promised i would.

as we raced back to DC to catch our flight (which we missed by 8 minutes!) david and i talked about the intensity of this experience. shared our favorite highlights and laughed off the truly scary moments. yet, i couldn't shake the heavy irony: this year my family pooled their money together to buy me a plane ticket so that i could be with them for christmas. and this year, this sweet little girl's family pooled their money together to get rid of her.

i am truly blessed and so grateful for opportunities like this one to help me realize all of the good in my life. i know this is going to sound cheesy- but will you please remember kristin (and all of the kids like her) in your prayers tonight?