The Season of Magic
When I was 7 years old I was so excited about Christmas I could barely contain myself. The Sears Christmas Catalog would arrive and my sister and I would study it intently, oo-ing and ahh-ing at all the wonderful presents Santa might bring. Christmas Eve we put on matching red velvet dresses and went to midnight mass at St. Joseph’s Church. The church smelled of candles, evergreen boughs and incense. Red poinsettia's created a wave of color around the altar. The carols we sang were familiar and sung with gusto. I fought to stay awake so I would not miss a single moment. Magic was in the air. When we returned home, we rushed into our pajamas to prepare for the arrival of that jolly man from the north pole. We carefully placed a plate of cookies on the kitchen counter along side a glass of milk. My parents tucked us into bed but our excitement made it hard to fall asleep. We listened intently for sleigh bells and reindeer hoofs on the roof until we finally drifted off. In the morn