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30 x December 21, 2017 - January 3, 2018 x www.SouthwestOrlandoBulletin.com<br />
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29<br />
Let me begin with how we were given<br />
this sweet and loving gift: a puppy! Both<br />
of my parents supposedly had some “errands”<br />
to run and were gone for almost<br />
four hours on Christmas Eve. I felt confused,<br />
and, to be honest, a little worried<br />
about where they went. As the hours<br />
went by, they finally pulled into the driveway.<br />
However, only my mom got out of<br />
the car and approached the front door.<br />
She told my brothers and me to head into<br />
her room while we waited for my dad.<br />
After a long period of impatiently<br />
waiting, we were eventually able to<br />
leave the bedroom and were soon sitting<br />
in front of a huge box in our living<br />
room. I was anxious to see what was<br />
inside the box but was also a little overwhelmed<br />
by all the chaos occurring<br />
during those first few minutes. Once<br />
we settled down, the box was opened,<br />
and there he was. A small ball of fur<br />
with giant paws and floppy ears. We<br />
were so shocked, we did not have as<br />
big a reaction as you would expect.<br />
Not too long after the big reveal, we<br />
were crowding around and admiring<br />
the newest member of the family.<br />
That cheerful evening showed me<br />
what the Christmas season is truly<br />
about, and that is family. I have realized<br />
how much my furry friend brought<br />
us closer together as a family. It showed<br />
me that we can enjoy things together<br />
and should show our gratitude for the<br />
gifts we are given throughout the entire<br />
year. I was quickly able to notice the<br />
love our family had for this creature of<br />
God and realized how much happier<br />
our lives became after that Christmas<br />
season.<br />
Not only has this gift brought an<br />
abundance of great joy, but it has<br />
shown me that Christmas is so much<br />
more than what you want on your<br />
Christmas list. It has shown me that<br />
this time of year is about sharing time<br />
with friends and family and trying new<br />
things. For example, taking care of a<br />
puppy! I feared that I would not be<br />
able to take care of our new pet, but<br />
with the help of my family, our puppy<br />
has now grown to be a huge, healthy<br />
and loving delight to my day. This was<br />
truly the most memorable Christmas<br />
that I will not forget.<br />
Even though I truly enjoy spending<br />
time with family, I also need to make<br />
time for Christ. As a Catholic, I have<br />
made it a priority to keep Christ in<br />
Christmas and to make the Advent season<br />
an important event in my life, as<br />
well. Christ should be a significant part<br />
of Christmas and should be a time of<br />
preparing ourselves through prayer.<br />
Christmas truly means something much<br />
more to me now that I have set apart<br />
time for family and time for Christ.<br />
Honorable Mention<br />
The Family of Christmas<br />
by Mia Appleby<br />
Windermere<br />
We are the family of Christmas.<br />
When I say everyone is there, everyone<br />
is there! Nanny, Bop, Poppy and<br />
Nani are my grandparents. Then everyone<br />
from my mom’s two sisters to<br />
my six boy cousins, uncles, siblings<br />
and parents. We are the family that<br />
starts to decorate our home before the<br />
scary costumes ring at our front door.<br />
I guess you could say we have a slight<br />
Christmas obsession; yet, we wait until<br />
the day before Christmas to get our<br />
presents. We celebrate Christmas like<br />
many families around the world, but<br />
what makes us different is that we have<br />
literally celebrated Christmas around<br />
the world.<br />
What most people love about the<br />
holidays is the cooler weather, warm<br />
fireplaces and hot cookies right out of<br />
the oven. Lucky for you, we are not like<br />
most people. Our Christmases growing<br />
up took place on the other side of the<br />
world. Literally. We have spent many<br />
Christmas holidays “down under.” My<br />
dad was born and raised in Ka Huna,<br />
Australia. He grew up on a farm, where<br />
he and my grandparents lived the life<br />
of diary farmers. When we would go<br />
visit for Christmas, we would spend our<br />
days playing on the farm and learning<br />
the importance of taking care of<br />
animals and the farm.<br />
Unlike in the U.S., the weather in<br />
Australia during this time of year can<br />
get up to 118 degrees. The days of<br />
Christmas plaid and scarves were long<br />
gone. Although the weather was much<br />
different than here, we could not make<br />
it through the holiday season without<br />
making Christmas cookies. This is one<br />
of my favorite memories growing up.<br />
Nani was always in charge of baking<br />
duty. We would spend the day decorating<br />
with Aunt Kozzi and my cousins.<br />
Even here, I can close my eyes and<br />
smell those cookies baking in Nani’s<br />
kitchen. We would feel so accomplished<br />
later that night when everyone<br />
would come over for Christmas Eve<br />
dinner.<br />
Another one of my favorite memories<br />
always took place on Christmas Eve.<br />
My dad, brothers and I would set out<br />
to make the best possible Santa trap<br />
in town. This would include string from<br />
Poppy’s workshop, bells from Nani’s<br />
craft bucket, and of course, those delicious<br />
ginger bread cookies that we<br />
baked earlier in the day. We would<br />
spend hours coming up with what<br />
we thought was the perfect plan. We<br />
would go to bed that night in hopes that<br />
our trap would be successful the next<br />
morning. These memories are of things<br />
I hope to share with my kids someday.<br />
Spending Christmas on the other<br />
side of the world while growing up is<br />
not something that many kids could<br />
say they have been able to do. The<br />
journey to get there sure is tough, but
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