Mrs. Osnow’s Class

“Ding, dong, dang, ding.” I woke up on Christmas morning to the sound of joyous bells ringing in the distance as flurries of snow made the morning air shimmer and shine. It layered over the pine trees and frozen ground like a soft fluffy blanket, undisturbed, and perfectly smooth. A red cardinal flew by with an evergreen, pine branch in its beak, chirping as if to say, “Merry Christmas to all!”  I jumped out of my warm, quilted bed onto the pine wood floor. Creeping surreptitiously towards the narrow staircase, I caught a glimpse of our magnificent tree. I descended the polished steps the rest of the way, in awe at our bulging homemade stockings. Out of each stuck a delicate, detailed, hand painted nutcracker each saluting me silently. Under our decorated, icicle laden tree, piled tons of vibrantly wrapped presents. I had to wake my sisters.   I bounded up the steps to find my two sisters indolently yawning and climbing out of their big, squishy beds. I motioned for them to follow me down the creaking stairwell, with excitement. “Wow,” my sisters said in sync, barely whispering. We sat down in front of the blazing fire, waiting for someone to get up, hugging our knees in anticipation. Finally, we heard the floorboards groan and I jumped up exuberantly. It was our grandparents, followed by my mom. We rushed to the fireplace and started to take the treasures out of our stuffed stockings. Out came a nutcracker, a candy cane, a pack of Christmas playing cards, some beaded bracelets, and a few colorfully wrapped hard candies. Next it was time for the stacks of presents. I picked out a medium sized present wrapped in blue and silver foil and started to carefully unwrap the beautiful package. It was a book about dragons, my favorite mythical creature. Jojo got some thick books as well, and Emily an American Girl Doll Christmas outfit as they opened their first presents. Overall I think that I had received the most presents. I had opened a whole assortment of interesting books, some light weight, metal framed, snow shoes, a blue I-pod case, and a lovely, ornate, glass box as well as many other fabulous gifts. It was time to play in the winter wonderland outside. Unwillingly, I stepped out onto the fresh, crisp, sheet of snow, disturbing the sound of silence with every heavy thunk of my snow boots. Although I was quite adamant to keep the snow clean, I finally acquiesced and started to roll and frolic in the crunchy snow like a puppy dog with my sisters. That day we built snowmen and snow angels, sled down the hill behind my grandfather’s house on a variety of toboggans, and had a full fledged snowball fight. After all that playing around I sure was hungry!  “Dinner time,” my mom called, her breath freezing in mid air, leaving an icy mist behind as the door clanged shut. We raced inside and put on our best clothes, making sure we looked meticulous before we proceeded down the stairs, as arrogant as queens. We sat curtly at our designated spots as our mouths watered at the sight of the fat juicy ham, decorated with delectable, grilled, pineapple. I ate and savored every last morsel of my meal until I stared at a clean China plate, my stomach full and my head in the clouds. For dessert my mother made a puffy, air filled chocolate soufflé. That night I went to sleep content and relaxed as the fire crackled and burned the sappy smoke filling the room with warmth. This is my idea of a perfect, magical Christmas waking up to the sound of church bells and cardinals, with a sheet of snow covering the countryside and falling asleep to the calm popping of the fire, after a day of caroling, sledding and presents.