Christmas Memory-so, so sick

I am participating with a Christmas memory blogfest hosted by Cherdo on the Flipside. I am a bit late with this since it has been a very busy weekend for little ole moi. I must get caught up on all the reading and i am late posting this!. Anyway, This is a fun way to find out everybody's Christmas memory. Mine is all about a book!

It was Christmas 1972 and all through the house...was chaos with my mom getting everything prepared for Christmas Eve, wrapping all the gifts and having her usually 3pm crying melt down. This was tradition! My dad was all dressed up wondering why she was all upset as he had another coffee and continued to read his Winston Churchill books. This was still the time when we would all get into the car, Christmas Eve, to have dinner at my Uncle and Aunt's before we came home and started to unwrap the gifts into the wee hours of the morn. 

My mom made sure everything was decorated, the house clean, all the cookies were baked and she helped run the sawmill business with my dad. What is a busy lady to do but cry at 3pm every Christmas Eve day and then want to hit my dad with the rolling pin when he was all dressed and asked her why she wasn't ready? Now let's add to this mix that I was very, very sick and, apparently, had over 104 temperature. 

I do recall, when my mom was crying and her hands shaking that I got off the living room couch to do the dishes for her even though I did not feel well. I did a few dishes before she kindly told me to go back to the couch. My brother was so looking forward to that dinner so my dad and my brother went and my mom stayed home with me. My dad would call to see how I was and if they needed to bring me to the hospital. While my brother and my dad were feasting on turkey, I was upchucking and I was trying to avoid dreaming about any sugar plum fairies. My mom wrapped wet warm towels around my calves with a dry towel on top to suck the fever out(her Oma would do this and yes...it works!!). She had to change this often since the towel dried up so quickly. 

Baron and daddy finally came back and we were all exhausted except for my brother. For the first and only time, we agreed to actually open the gifts on Christmas Day. I was so dizzy that I did not want to open them. I know!! I am an 8 year old kid and wanted to wait so you know I must have been one sick puppy. Well, my brother, the ever diplomatic salesman just asked if we could open just one gift. He pleaded his case to great effect and looking at his face we all relented and said, "OK, just one". We each opened up one gift and this is without my mom having any bags for the bows or for the paper. We were trained from the beginning, to save the paper so we never tore the paper and I still have wrapping paper from that time! (Yes, I am ill in so many ways). Once that first gift was opened, my wonderful brother pleaded for just one more and so it went. 

Halfway through (again going by memory here), I opened a gift from my brother and it turned out to be the book you see above. My eyes grew wide and my mouth dropped open and nothing else mattered but this book. I loved watching old movies and never even thought that there would be actual books out there on actors and actresses. I was transfixed and no other gift mattered, only this book. My mom had to tell me to open other gifts which I did but I went right back to my book. By the end of the night, all the gifts were unwrapped, my mom was in a tizzy because she did not have her bags for ribbons and paper all ready, my dad was happy and so was I. My mom didn't care how the place looked though because I had no more fever! I went from almost spending Christmas is the hospital to having no fever and receiving one of the best presents I ever got. My mom and dad believed that we all should receive books but my brother instilled my passion for it. My collection of film books is large and it all started with this one book. I love it and love my brother for not giving in to our wish to open our gifts Christmas Day. It was a special Christmas Eve of giving and bringing joy and  bringing my health back. Have a Very Merry Christmas!