Published: 6 Nov 2025
Chapter 24 – Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas
When Devin and I were awakened by Clint on Christmas morning, we discovered he was still a little boy at heart when it came to this very special day. He was eager to go downstairs and open his presents to see what he got, so we merely tossed on something quickly, so we could go with him. On the way down the stairs, I warned Clint that our moms would probably insist that we eat breakfast first, before we opened any presents, and he just made a face before he responded.
“Yeah, my mom was like that too, except for when I was real little. But when I started getting’ older and goin’ to school, she would say that I should be mature enough to wait until after we ate first, before I opened my presents.”
After we got downstairs, I made a comment to Lonny as we were heading into the dining room.
“I hope you slept well down here last night.”
“I slept fine and your couch is quite comfortable. Your moms didn’t even wake me while they were preparing breakfast either. What actually woke me up was the smell of coffee, so I got up and asked if I could have a cup.”
“I was about ready to send your father up to wake you boys, because breakfast is ready,” Mom greeted us. “Go sit down and Doris and I will bring the food out and set it on the table.”
“Yeah, but Clint woke us up for you, although Devin and I would have preferred to sleep a little longer.”
She smiled and replied, “So, now you have some idea what your father and I went through when you were younger and you’d wake us up early on Christmas morning, when we would have liked to sleep longer too. And I’m sure Devin did the same thing to his parents as well.”
As expected, we sat down to eat first, since there weren’t any impatient kids around urging us to open the presents before we ate. When our moms started putting the food on the table, they brought out a huge bowl of scrambled eggs first, along with a platter with sausage patties and another with bacon strips. Then, they brought out two plates piled high with pancakes. I thought it was nice that we were having Christmas breakfast together.
I picked up the plate with pancakes that was closest, placed two pancakes on my plate, and then passed it to Clint, who was sitting next to me. Devin had picked up the other plate with pancakes and set it down in front of him and then commented.
“I’ve got my breakfast, but what are the rest of you going to eat.”
“Don’t be a smart ass,” Pa warned him. “Just take two pancakes and pass the plate to me.”
Devin just grinned and then did as Pa suggested. Eventually, the two platters and bowl of scrambled eggs reached us as well, so I took my share and passed it along. Once I had everything on my plate, I buttered both pancakes and drowned them in syrup, and of course the syrup got on the scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage patty as well. That was ok, though, because I like the taste of the maple syrup on each of those items as well. We all had full plates and began to eat.
“This is really good,” Clint said with his mouth half-full, which caused our moms to smile.
“Yes, this is a wonderful breakfast for a chilly Christmas morning,” Lonny concurred.
“And there appears to be plenty of snow on the ground, so we can take out the toboggan later and give rides to anyone who is brave enough to do it with us,” Devin stated before he turned toward me. “You still have the toboggan, don’t ya?”
“Yes, it’s out in the garage, and I believe there might be some wax that we can use on the bottom of the toboggan,” I replied, and then we all went back to eating.
When everyone was full, Devin and I helped our moms clear the dishes from the table and took them into the kitchen. “We’ll do these for you after we open the presents,” I stated, knowing our moms would agree, since Devin and I were going to wash them.
“Thank you. That will be greatly appreciated,” Mom responded. “The turkey is already in the oven, but there’s plenty of other dishes that Doris and I still have to prepare, and it will be a lot easier since you and Devin will be taking care of that task.”
The others had already moved into the living room to watch the Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade before the football games started. When Devin, I, and our moms joined them, I was prepared to find Lonny sitting on Clint to keep him from opening his presents before the rest of us joined them. I was partially correct, because Clint was on the ground in front of the Christmas tree, eagerly eyeing the contents under the tree.
“I want to give you the presents that we brought for you first,” Clint explained, shocking all of us. We thought he was in a hurry to open ‘his own presents’, not giving us the ones they bought for us.
“If that’s what you want to do,” Dad confirmed, so Clint excitedly grabbed some presents from under the tree and walked over to our moms. He then handed them two presents each and we watched as they opened each one. It turned out that they had bought identical presents for them, and the first box contained a very nice ruby and sapphire sterling silver necklace.
“The rubies and sapphires were created in a lab,” Lonny explained.
“I couldn’t tell the difference,” Mom stated, “because this is simply stunning.”
“Yes, you have marvelous taste,” Ma added.
When they opened the second present, they each found a lovely silk scarf, although these weren’t identical. “This is very lovely as well,” Ma commented. “Thank you for both of these marvelous presents.”
“Yes, thank you for these lovely gifts and I can’t wait to wear both of these to work,” Mom followed.
Clint then hurriedly gave two presents each to Dad, Pa, Devin, and me. “I apologize for getting each of you guys similar presents,” Lonny said. “I was temporarily stumped about what to get you, but I knew Mike and Aaron are working men, and Michael and Devin will be interviewing for jobs, so I thought you might appreciate those items.”
When we opened our gifts, we found one of the nicer dress shirts in the first box and an impressive silk tie in the second box. “Thank you for these,” Dad stated. “The shirt appears to be a better quality than what I normally wear, and the silk tie is very impressive. I’ll save both these to wear for when I have a meeting scheduled with my boss or with his bosses.”
“And I don’t normally dress up for work,” Pa added, “but I do dress up when I’m meeting with a client, and these will give me a look that will definitely impress them. Thank you.”
“And these will look great with my new suit when I go to an interview,” I agreed. “Thank you very much.”
“Yes, thank you,” Devin added, “and now I can’t wait to get dressed up for an interview. These will make me look very professional.”
Now that they’d given us our presents, Devin and I were eager to give Lonny and Clint the gifts that we’d bought for them. We handed two presents to each of them. The first box contained both a Colorado State polo shirt and a CSU tee shirt. The second box contained a CSU hoodie.
“We thought those would be appropriate for when you decide to go to another CSU football game, depending on the weather,” I told them.
“Yeah, you can wear the polo shirt or the tee shirt in the fall, when it’s a little warmer,” Devin added, “and you can add the hoodie if it’s a little cooler out. When it gets really cold, you can wear the hoodie under your coat to keep you even warmer.”
“We’ll wear them proudly whenever we go to other games,” Lonny responded, “because I’m sure we’ll go to a few more in the future, especially the Colorado – Colorado State games.”
“But I’ll be sad when we do that,” Clint added, “because I know you and Devin won’t be there.”
“We’ll be there with you in spirit, because we’ll try to watch any of the games that are televised and we’ll listen to the other ones that are on the radio.”
Once they’d opened our gifts, Dad and Pa handed Lonny two small boxes. “I’m sure these don’t appear like much on the outside, but I’m sure you’ll find them useful, and they’re for both of you,” Dad advised them.
Lonny opened the first box and found a gift card for the outfitter that we used when we went rafting in Glenwood Springs. “That should be enough money on that to cover the same types of activities that we engaged in during our past vacation there.”
After Clint opened the other small package, Pa spoke. “After talking to Mike and my son, my wife and I got you a gift card so you can stay at the Quality Inn with Mike and the rest of us, if we can find a time that we can all go together.”
“Yes, we figured it would save some wear and tear on your vehicle and you wouldn’t have to spend most of your time alone,” Dad concluded.
“Whoa, this is really cool. Will you guys be able to do it again next summer?”
“Not next summer,” because the boys will be busy sending out resumes and hopefully going on interviews for a job,” Dad confirmed, “but we are up for another trip right after the boys graduate.”
“When is that?” Clint demanded.
“The boys graduate on Friday, May 16th, and they tell me they have Recognition Ceremonies to attend the following day, so we can go any time after that. The guys at the outfitters told me the best time to go whitewater rafting is during April and May when the snow in the mountains is melting and flowing into the streams that empty into the river. That means there’s more water in the river and the rapids will be more difficult to handle, so if we want a real challenge, that’s when it will be best to go.”
“I get out of school on May 23rd,” Clint quickly stated, and Devin and I were shocked that he knew that information without having to look it up.
“That’s when our schools end for summer break as well,” Ma confirmed, “since I work in the elementary school as an aid.”
“Then we can leave the day after Memorial Day, which is Tuesday May 27th, and then return home on Sunday June 1st,” Dad conceded after glancing at a calendar, “if that’s ok with the rest of you.”
“Yeah, let’s do that,” Clint eagerly agreed after checking with his dad and getting a nod.
“That will be fine,” Lonny confirmed. “I can ask for that week off for my vacation time, and since we’ll have Memorial Day off already, I’ll see if I can take an extra day off on the Monday after we get back.”
“That works fine for us as well,” Pa concurred, “since Doris will be off work for the summer and I’ll be well past the crush period to prepare income tax forms for my clients.”
“It sounds like we’re all in agreement then, so I’ll call the outfitters and the Quality Inn and make our reservations,” Dad confirmed. “We’ll have to take two vehicles for all of us to get there, so Lonny and Clint, why don’t we drive by your place on our way there, and then you can follow me to the cabin where Devin and his parents live. You’ll be able to transfer your things over to their SUV, and then you and Clint can ride with them to Glenwood Springs.”
“But I want to ride with Michael.” Clint whined.
“It’s ok,” Devin quickly assured him, “because your dad and I will ride with my parents so you can ride with Michael,” Devin relented.
“Yay! Thank you,” Clint enthused.
“And Lonny, since you’ll be sleeping alone, what would you think about getting a room with us that has two queen-size beds so you won’t be alone. The other can each get a room with a king-size bed instead.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind doing that, if it’s ok with Cindy?” and she nodded her approval. “Great, then I’ll use the gift card Aaron and Doris gave me to pay for the room!”
“If you’re going to use your gift card to pay for the room, then I’ll buy all of your and Clint’s meals while we’re there.”
“Sounds like a plan then.”
While Clint was talking excitedly with his dad about our vacation plans, the rest of us exchanged our presents with each other, and we all got some really nice things. In some cases, they were extremely useful gifts, as well as things we appreciated.
As soon as we had opened the last of our presents, my parents went into the kitchen so Mom could keep an eye on the turkey while they called my Grandparents. Devin and I went out there to join them as they made these calls, and we wished my grandparents Merry Christmas. We also thanked them for the presents they sent us, although we admitted we hadn’t opened the large box they were shipped in yet. We told them that we’d do that after our guests had left on Boxing Day.
Dad’s sister and her family were with his parents when we called them, so Devin and I got to speak with my Aunt Linda, Uncle Ted, Katy, and Ben too.
“We’re still trying to find a time when we can all meet up for a joint vacation,” Aunt Linda told us, “but we all have such busy schedules that it’s not easy to find a date that’s good for us, even before we get in touch with you.”
While we were on the phone with our extended families, Devin’s parents, Lonny, and Clint had stayed in the living room to watch the rest of the parade. Then when Dad went into the living room to join the others after the last call had ended, Mom and I stayed in the kitchen. She was going to start working on some of the side dishes for the meal, while I got things ready to wash and rinse the dishes before Devin dried them.
While we were doing that, Ma, Pa, and Devin went into the dining room to call Pops, Hope, Gramps, and Faith to wish them a Merry Christmas. Devin called me out so I could join them, so I could talk to each of them too. After they finished making those calls, Ma went out to the kitchen to help Mom, and Devin and I went into the kitchen to wash the dishes. Pa went back into the living room to join Dad, Lonny, and Clint, and as soon as Clint saw we weren’t with them, he came out to the kitchen and offered to help Devin dry the dishes after I washed them. After Devin went to get Clint a dish towel to use, they took turns grabbing the dish out of the rinse water after I washed it.
When we finished washing all of the dishes, the three of us went up to my bedroom so we could work on the baseball cards again.
I got out the plastic container that held the cardboard storage boxes with the cards we’d already placed in protective sleeves. They also contained the extra protective sleeves and the cards that we hadn’t taken care of yet as well. After they seen everything that I’d done, I turned to Devin and spoke.
Now, I’ll be able to work on the baseball cards AND you.”
“Ahhh, I like the sound of that, but I think you forgot someone else is here with us.”
“Oops, you’re right!”
“You can work on both of us,” Clint said hopefully.
“I think we’d better just work on the baseball cards,” Devin responded, and I nodded in agreement.
“Damn, but can I at least help you then.”
“Sure, as long as you watch your language,” I teased.
“Don’t start sounding like my dad,” Clint shot back and then rolled his eyes.
“I won’t, as long as you watch your language, but you’ll have to be very, very careful when handling the cards and while you’re inserting them into the protective sleeves.”
“Ok, I’ll be really careful then.”
We worked on the baseball cards until our parents called us down for the Christmas meal, and of course it had been arranged so that we’d eat during halftime of the first football game. When the three of us got to the dining room, I was surprised by what I saw on the table.
“Whoa! You’re using the good china for this!” I observed.
“Yes, because it’s Christmas and we’re entertaining,” Mom replied.
“Wow! I can’t believe you did all of this,” Lonny stated when he saw all of the food on the table.
“I didn’t do it alone. Doris helped.”
“Still, this is really nice and you also have candles on the table.”
“Yes, and we thought we could dim the lights slightly, once we’re all seated. Doris and I thought it would make it more intimate, not to hide any mistakes we might have made whiel preparing all of this.”
“And it will make it romantic too,” I quickly added.
“Only for you couples,” Lonny stated, “but Clint and I will enjoy the ambiance as well.”
“Yeah, cuz I’ll be sitting next to Michael,” Clint followed, which caused mildly shocked reactions from Ma and Pa, while Lonny merely rolled his eyes.
The meal was incredible and Devin and I offered to clear the table and wash the dishes when we finished, and once again, Clint offered to help. Before we started doing that, Mom made another comment.
“Later, after our meals have had a chance to settle, we’ll come back for dessert. I’ve made a Gingerbread Cake with a Maple Cinnamon Glaze and almonds on top, and you can have a scoop of vanilla ice cream with it as well, if that’s what you want.”
“Yeah, I want that.” Clint quickly confirmed.
“And there are some boxes with chocolate covered cherries on the counter in the kitchen, if you need something sweet in the meantime, and there are also candy canes hanging on the tree.”
“Damn, you people really go all out for Christmas,” Lonny observed.
“Language, Dad,” Clint said with a grin.
Now that we’d finished eating, Devin and I cleared the dishes and other items from the table, with Clint’s help of course. We did the dishes while our dads, Lonny included, returned to the living room to watch the second half of the football game. Our moms remained at the table to chat and sip their coffee, at least until they were ready to get up to bring the dessert out and work on a smaller meal for later.
When the first game ended, we all returned to the table for dessert, and when we finished eating that, mom spoke. “We’ll call you back later to have a small meal consisting mainly of leftovers.” I knew she meant that this would happen during halftime of the second game, or possibly even after that game had ended.
Realizing that this would leave us plenty of time to do something else, I decided to carry my presents up to my room, and Devin and Clint offered to help. After I put those things away, we finished putting the last of the cards in protective sleeves.
“What are you going to do with the cards now?” Clint asked.
“After you guys leave, I’ll sort the cards by teams first, and then I’ll sort each team’s players by the uniform numbers they wore. If a player has more than one card, then I’ll arrange his cards from the oldest to the most recent, although none of them will be very new. After that, I’ll make a list of the various cards in a spreadsheet, and then we can take photos of the front and back of each card so we’ll have a photographic record of each one. Once all of that is taken care of, we’ll send all of the cards to one of the companies to have them graded.”
“Sounds a lot like you’re sendin’ them to school,” Clint responded.
“Yes, I suppose it does, but each card will be graded according to its appearance, not by what it knows.”
“And why are you gonna take pictures of each of them? Are they for you to use when you sell them?”
“Partially, but it’s also to make sure that the place we send them to have them graded doesn’t try to switch any of our cards with any of theirs.”
“Why would they do that?”
“If any of our cards has a higher grade and are worth a lot of money, then they might try to switch it with a similar card that they have with a lower grade, but that’s still for the same player. The card for that player might even be from a different year, but either way the replacement card would have a lesser value, which means we’d be losing money on the switcheroo.”
“Ok, I see why you’re doing that now and I think it’s pretty smart.”
“I’m glad you agree. We’ll also send a copy of the spreadsheet I’m making that lists all the cards we’re sending them, so they’ll know we’re keeping track of the cards. I might also try to find a way to make sheets with the photos of each team’s cards, to let them know we’re aware of exactly which cards we sent to them in case there’s a dispute later.”
“Wow, that’s even smarter.”
“I’m glad you approve, but we’re just trying to protect ourselves so we can’t be cheated.”
Now that we were at a place where we could stop working on the cards for now, and we had told Clint everything he wanted to know about them, he suddenly switched topics. Now, he wanted to start talking about going whitewater rafting again.
“Do you think it’s gonna be different this time, if we’re doin’ the same stuff?”
“Yes, the river will have a lot more water and the current will be flowing much faster than when we were there before, so the rapids are going to have higher ratings and be more difficult to navigate.”
“Do you think I’ll get tossed out of the raft again, since it will be a lot harder to get down the river?”
“Nah, you have more experience now and you know what to do. You’re also older and you weigh more, so you shouldn’t get bounced around as much as last time.”
“I hope not, cuz the water will prolly be really cold and I don’t want to be floating behind the raft until you can pull me out of the water.”
“Don’t worry! We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen to you.”
We were just about ready to move on to a different topic concerning our upcoming vacation together when Mom called us downstairs to eat again. We hurriedly put everything away before heading down to the dining room, and then we flew down the stairs, one after the other.
This time we were offered a choice of a hot or cold turkey sandwich to eat, and since we’d eaten most of the side dishes earlier, our moms prepared new dishes for us to choose from. Instead of mashed potatoes and gravy there were candied yams, and the honey coated carrots were replaced by green beans, and the cauliflower casserole was exchanged for a broccoli and cheese casserole. It was all very delicious.
“And if you have room and want something sweet,” Mom informed us, “Doris brought two cheesecakes. She’s topped one with cherries and the other with blueberries, so you can have either, or you can have a smaller slice of both. There are still some chocolate-covered cherries remaining that we haven’t collectively devoured yet, and we also made a pan of fudge.”
Devin, Clint, and I quickly talked over what we wanted to do, and then I told our moms what we decided. “The three of us are just going to have a piece of fudge for now, and maybe a chocolate covered cherry or two, since we ate so much and we’re all very full. We’ll have the cheesecake tomorrow.”
“After breakfast?” Ma asked. “Because we’ll be leaving shortly after we finish eating.”
“Yeah, what’s wrong with that?”
‘It’s just very unusual,” she replied, and then walked away shaking her head.
After we’d finished eating, our dads, including Lonny, had returned to the living room to watch the rest of the football game. Devin and I volunteered to clear the table and wash and dry the dishes again, so our moms didn’t have to do it, and Clint decided to help.
When we finished, we said goodnight to our moms, who were sitting at the dining room table sipping their coffee and chatting about who knows what. We then went into the living room to say goodnight to our dads, but we waited for a commercial to come on before we did it, rather than upset anyone if we caused them to miss any of the action. They all sort of grunted in return, and then the three of them began talking about a big play that had taken place prior to the commercial.
Before we headed upstairs, I placed the bedding for Lonny to use on the loveseat, since he and Pa were sitting on the couch while watching the game. After that, Devin, Clint, and I went upstairs to shower and get ready for bed.
“I want to shower with you again,” Clint told me as soon as we got upstairs.
“We kind of figured you would, but it’s just to shower. Agreed?”
“Yeah, ok, but I don’t think Devin would mind if we did something else at the same time.”
“Maybe not, but like I’ve told you several times before, you’re too young for me to be doing those types of things with you.”
We ended up taking a fairly quick shower, much to Clint’s chagrin, and then we got out, dried off, and brushed our teeth. Devin went in to shower next, while we were getting dressed for bed, and we were just about to climb into bed when Devin returned from his shower. After he finished getting dressed for bed, he turned off the light and got in on the other side of the bed, and then we both cuddled with Clint as we fell asleep.
When we were awakened the next morning, we went downstairs to have breakfast with everyone else, and when we finished the “normal” breakfast, Devin, Clint, and I all had a slice of cheesecake. I had a slice of the one with cherries on top, and of course Clint did the same thing, but Devin had a slice of the one with Blueberries. None of the adults chose to do the same thing, although I could tell that my dad really wanted to have a piece of cheesecake with us. However, Mom put a slice of cheesecake for each of those that were leaving in a container with a top so they could take it with them. She told them they could return the container whenever they got the chance to see us again.
“Come on, let’s get a move on,” Pa urged. “If you haven’t forgotten, I’ve got to drive to Pueblo and cash in the lottery tickets before we go back to the cabin, and I want to go into work for a while too.”
“Ok, let me give you guys a hand so you can do it faster,” I offered.
I then helped Ma, Pa, and Devin carry their things out to their SUV and then we all said goodbye to them. Clint gave Devin a hug before he got in his seat, and I gave Devin a hug and a kiss. After they drove away, I helped Lonny and Clint carry their things out to their car, and then Clint came over to give me a hug. He also kissed me on the cheek and said he’d miss me, so I said I’d miss him too.
“Bye and I’ll see you again after school ends and we go on vacation with you,” Clint yelled out the window as his dad was backing out of the driveway.
“Yes, we’ll see you then, but we’ll also see you for the New Year’s celebration,” I shouted back.
“Oh, yeah. I forgot about that!” he responded as his dad was trying to close the window, and then he waved at us before they headed down the road, past Devin’s old house.
Mom, Dad, and I waved at them until they disappeared from view, and then we went back inside the house. As soon as the door closed behind us, I spoke to my parents.
“Thank you, that was a fantastic Christmas! I love the presents you gave me, and I also want to thank you for everything you did to make our Christmas so special.”
“I didn’t do much. Your mother did most of the work.”
“You must have helped with the shopping, both for the gifts and the food, as well as putting up the Christmas lights on the house and the other items in the yard.”
“Yeah, but your mother helped with all of that as well, along with fixing all of the meals.”
“With Doris’ help,” Mom interjected.
“I still appreciate everything both of you did to make this Christmas so wonderful.”
When I finished thanking them, Mom and Dad hurriedly grabbed the things they needed for work before they said goodbye to me. After they left for work, I was now all alone, so I went upstairs to sort the baseball cards according to teams, and then I’d sort the players by uniform number order, from the oldest card to the newest, and then I’d add them to the spreadsheet that I still had to set up. This was going to be a very lengthy process.
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