At my grandmother's house on Christmas, we never did gifts until the evening...I have no idea why, but it was just the way it was. This would all take place after the big formal dinner which was late afternoon-ish. Then, after dinner, you get the damn Christmas desert and coffee and lots of chatter at the table. It was a killer for me. The pure agony of having to wait longer was unbearable. One Christmas, my grandfather and left the table and went into the formal living room. It was a room with a large Curtis Mathis TV and beautiful live Christmas Tree. One dared NOT to eat or drink in that room or even walk in it with shoes on. Anyway, my grandfather sat in a LaZboy chair and put the foot rest up and laid it back. One thing I wanted more than ANYTHING when I was a kid was a record player. Of course, in the 70s, that was the thing (unless you had an 8 track player) and even into the 80s before cassettes were big. I was dying I was so anxious, but still in the formal dining room was chatter. My grandpa's eyes were closed, but I knew he wasn't sleeping. I got really close to him and whispered to him. "Grandpa". He answered with a "what?". I said, "Grandpa....what's in the packages?" He laughed and wouldn't tell me. I said, "Grandpa!!! Did I get a record player??". It was like he couldn't contain his excitement, either. He shook his head, smiled really big, and said, "Yes!". Sure enough, when the chatter stopped in the dining room and everyone gathered into the living room, I did, indeed, get my record player. Along with it, was a Disco Mickey record!
I don't think I will ever forget that moment with my grandfather <3
