My Christmas Memories Part 1-Christmas Eve

My favorite Christmas memories as a child have dwindled over the years. Some of the exact details of what Santa brought and what I wanted have been lost. Thus, the importance of journaling. Anyway...
Some of my Christmas memories were good and some not. When I was a child Christmas Eve was dedicated to the Ross side of the family. My mother's folks. They lived in a small 2 bedroom home in Longview, WA. On the eve of Christmas our family of 4 would head over to what I am sure the adults thought was a good old fashioned family gathering. To me it was torture! I think my sister felt the same way. Grandma would make a giant pot of homemade clam chowder. Back in the day I hated clam chowder to put it lightly. There was always plenty of goodies and eventually over time Grandma would buy a ham for those of us who disliked the chowder. Since then my tastes have changed and I love clam chowder. There was always so much noise, hub bub, cussing, gossip, gambling, shouting, and regretfully a whole heck of a lot of cigarette smoke and alcohol. I remember my eyes watering and I the cousins would try to find small locations in the house where the air quality was less toxic. Grandma would not allow us to go in her room, but we would sneak in there anyway to listen to the radio. I wonder to this day if my lungs have been affected by all that smoke. However, there was plenty of love to go around. There was lots of hugs and kisses. I always knew that I was loved by everyone on that side of the family. My sister and I would only receive 1 gift from Grandma & Grandpa Ross. It was exciting! I always got something from them that I needed and not necessarily what I wanted. It was wonderful either way. And I have forgotten what most of those items were. The only thing I looked forward to on Christmas Eve was leaving. I remember the thick fog in the sky as we would walk to the car. It was like you could smell Santa. And if you listened real close you might hear his sleigh bells.