A childhood Christmas I remember played out mostly in the barn, after spending the day with our maternal grandparents and cousins filled to the rafters in the home where my mother had been born. Winter’s darkness had already fallen when I crawled in the back seat with my sisters, so we had the fun of seeing Christmas lights on our way back home.
I remember bundling up in layers of clothing to help get us through the milking and chores. It was snowing and bitterly cold as we trudged to the dairy barn.
This was the first time I had seen frosty eyelashes on our cows, and my sisters convinced me they were dressed up pretty for Christmas. The icicles hanging from large noses, though not so lovely, proved interesting to behold.
The old Knipco heater that stood in the far end of our milking parlor was such an awful necessity. We loved it and hated it because the smell of that orange glowing heater was enough to turn a stomach, and the relief of turning it off once in a while was the best part of the beast. Without it, though, our feet and hands would have frozen beyond the pale.
But on that Christmas night, there was a coziness about all of us in the barn together, and when it came time to feed the calves, a newborn calf struggled to stand on all fours, but showed it had plenty of strength to grab ahold of my little fingers as we urged it to drink colostrum. I remember shaking out lots of straw to bed all the cattle down well.
My paternal great-grandfather, who had spent the day of celebration with us, helped every step of the way.
“Let’s give ’em a little extra tonight,” he said with a wink, as we worked together to get the bedding just right.
A warm, wonderful dinner back inside awaited us, a holiday candle glowing in the center of the table as we enjoyed Christmas together. It would be our last Christmas with sweet Grandpa Charlie, though he was still vibrant as can be.
Gifts of that day fade to nothing, but the joy remains bright in my memory, filled with all the things that matter most, carried in the heart for a lifetime.
From my family to yours, we wish you a Merry Christmas.
