In Cedarfield tradition, the Pastoral Care Team created this compilation of holiday memoirs by team members and residents. We will share one a day through the holidays. Happy Holidays to you and yours!
Michael Shaw, Team Member
My favorite childhood story involves a treasured Christmas tradition. Every year in Penndel, Pennsylvania, I visited my grandma who lived one block from the local firehouse. Every Christmas Eve, after the sun went down, the fire department would take Santa on a ride throughout the town. Our family had dinner together, and then we would rush to the front porch to wait for the sound of the fire truck alarm announcing the beginning of Santa’s yearly trek. We would each be so excited to shout Merry Christmas to Santa. Our front porch was always packed with our family members as Santa paraded by on the ladder truck.
There was always a spotlight shining right on Santa. My grandma’s house was the first house they would pass by, and Santa would shout out: “Merry Christmas, Shaw family!” Though we really wanted to, we were not allowed to run after the truck. I wanted to chase after the truck to give Santa a hug. Since my grandmother lived right next to the firehouse, she knew the firefighters and would tell them the names of all the children who would be on the porch each Christmas Eve. Santa would announce by microphone, “now Michael and Jimmy (and so on) off to bed and Merry Christmas!”>
These experiences have taught me to enjoy the moments of time during the holidays because they fly by so quickly.
