I'll still be home for Christmas

Ad that appeared in The Raymond News in December, 1961.

There’s only been a few times since 1964 that I have not been in Raymond, Illinois at Christmas. This year is one of them. It didn’t sound like such a bad idea at first, but of course as I sit here in New Jersey on Christmas Eve, I must admit that I’m feeling a little sad and a bit nostalgic. Earlier today, I began looking through some email messages that Mom once sent to me about things that had happened “back in the day.” In one message, she mentioned Christmas during the Vietnam era when both of my brothers were in the Army and were deployed overseas:   

"As time went on it was getting close to the holidays again and we spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with NO BOYS. It was a sad time, but we had dinner and tried to keep things normal." 

By normal, she meant the Rockwellesque type of Christmas that most of us who grew up in Raymond experienced. How many of you remember:

• Getting dressed up and meeting Santa uptown under the Cottonwood Tree.
• The excitement around town when the volunteer fireman put up the town Christmas lights, including the display next to the old water tower on Rt. 48 with the reindeers pulling Santa and his sleigh.
• Attending various church Christmas programs.
• Christmas parties at school, coordinated by our “room mothers.”
•  Saving money to go Christmas shopping at one of the many stores in Raymond.
•  Christmas caroling and Christmas concerts.
•  Browsing through the Sears Wish Book.
•  Driving around town looking at Christmas lights. (Back then, you knew who lived in every single house and almost everyone had decorations.)
• Playing outside in the snow, including tying sleds to the back bumper of cars/trucks and going on a joy ride through the streets of Raymond.  

Oh, my sweet hometown. Those were the good old days. 

This year, I’m with my two favorite guys and we’re having some friends over for Christmas dinner. The Butterhorn rolls are baking as I write, and the “pink salad” my mom always made is in the refrigerator in the special bowl she always used. Earlier today, I made the miniature cherry cheesecakes from her recipe in the Raymond Methodist Church cookbook. Our tree is up and it’s decorated with many special ornaments from my childhood. Not being home for Christmas this year is sad, but we’ll have dinner and try to keep things normal.