The Craptastics

I’m going to try and do a series of memorable Christmas memories posts leading up to Christmas day.

The one that represents Christmas most vividly for me was sometime in the late eighties. I can’t remember what grade I was in, but I shared a bunkbed with Jordan. I had the top bunk because I convinced him that the lower bunk was better. I woke up at 2:24 on Christmas morning. I kept a small digital clock on a little shelf above my bed, and I remember seeing the red from the 2:24 glow across my blanket. It was past midnight so Santa must have already come. There was no way I could fall asleep again. I was able to creep down the ladder despite the creaky metal frame and I woke Jordan up. My mom always left the tree lights on all night on Christmas Eve, which at that time were all red. Jordan and I squinted to compare presents in the soft red light from the tree. Usually the presents from Santa weren’t wrapped and any large presents were already assembled. We excitedly hushed and shushed each other but we didn’t open anything for fear of a festive beating and we snuck back to bed before anyone woke up. I lay in bed, my heart thudding, thinking I would never be able to fall asleep. And then I did.

Even now soft red light rushes back warm Christmas sentiment. Except when Thea and I accidentally wandered into a red-light district in Seoul. The women literally stand in rooms lit with red lights. That wasn’t too festive.