Christmas seems to bring to mind so many memories. This year is no exception as I think about Christmases from the past with my Granny and Papa. It wasn’t often that we saw them in December. Memories of them during the Christmas season are few because we were living in other states and countries for years.
To Grandmother’s House We Go
I do vividly remember one particular Christmas with my Granny — probably because it was the year I was learning to play the bass clarinet. If you’re not familiar with a bass clarinet, let me just say it’s a wind instrument. Looking at it, you wouldn’t think it would be loud. But it is. Especially in small homes filled with people. That year, the band director thought it would be a wonderful idea for us to practice for 21 hours over Christmas break. My horn barely fit in the enormous trunk of my parents’ sea green Pontiac with all the suitcases, but we got it in and made the drive from Denver to Oklahoma.
My Granny and Papa lived on an Oklahoma farm. Which means that while they had chickens and cows, the cows lived in the pasture and the barn was used for hay, not milk cows. The barns were built about the time of the land run. I remember them as old, weathered, and silvery-gray.
Free Concerts
Granny saw the horn and told me that I could practice in the hay barn. It wasn’t really cold, but the air was nippy enough that a coat and hat were in order. I took the chair, stand and huge instrument case down to the hay barn followed by a couple of faithful farm dogs. I played quite a bit that Christmas trying to finish up the 21 hours of practice required by my Band director.
Family members would drift down from time to time and listen to me play. It was kind of cool to practice in the big hay barn to an audience of one and a couple of the farm dogs. Except the dogs didn’t hang out for long. But it was cool anyway.
December Memories
Do you have any favorite (or funny) December memories? Tell me about them in the comments, and we can reminisce together. And may you have a very Merry Christmas this year!
Karen
P.S. Don’t forget to sign up for the Use Your Stash Challenge!
P.P.S. She is also the Granny I crocheted countless nose warmers for when I was a little girl (actually a wad of crochet on two strings), which she put into her china cabinet because they were special to her.