Oh, Those Childhood Christmas Memories

As a kid, I have a number of Christmas memories. Definitely one of middle-class privilege.

On Christmas Eve, we'd get dressed up (which I came to despise) and go to church down the street. I never understood why we had to wear our "fancy" clothes, which meant frilly dresses and hair bows. Even though the church was close by, we would whine about how cold it was still in the van. Ma or Mom would remind us that the temperature needed to raise up.

Church would be filled with a brief sermon, but mostly holiday carols by the choir. We also would have small individual candles. One year, one of our hair caught on fire from the candle and due to our long, black hair. I'd never smelled burning hair before that. We'd see our school friends also all dressed up and looking forward to presents.

Either before or after church, we would drive around different neighborhoods and look at the lights. We would do our neighborhood, and then if there was time - go the "right" neighborhood of Geist. Surely, they would have even better lights. And they did.

Then, we'd come back home and change into our pajamas, which were usually matching and we had gotten to open the night before. Ma would make hot cocoa for us. Then, we'd come down to the living room to open the presents we had wrapped for each other. We each took turns so we could see what each other got and Mom could take photos. At the end, we'd gather up all the Christmas wrapping trash. Maybe we'd open the things and put in the batteries of things that needed batteries. Then, up we go to bed so Santa (i.e., Ma and Mom) could do their work.

For most of our childhood we had a real tree. Ma and Mom would go to a tree farm and get one fresh. We would use the metal tree stand/bucket that my Grandfather made. Kim and I would have to take turns water the tree so it wouldn't get dry and thus the lights start a fire. (These were the cautionary tales I heard as a kid.)

We've been told we were pretty good kids. We wouldn't sneak out of bed or anything like that. Often, Ma and Mom would have to yell to get us up, because we were still in bed and sleepy. But eventually, we'd make our way downstairs. We'd have to wait on the landing of the stairs until Mom was ready with her camera. Then, when she was ready, we could go down the hallway and into the living room to see the Santa presents and also get our stockings, which often turned out to be a big present in and of itself.

The stocking - in our house - not only had candy, but a variety of pragmatic toiletries. A new toothbrush, cotton balls, toothpaste, and anything else small and slender that could fit. Peanuts with the shell were used as filler along with the holiday candy.

By noon, we had moved to the dining room and put all of our candy in a large, metal bowl. I'm sure Ma made something for Christmas Day lunch. I love you Ma and Mom. Thanks for all the Christmas-es you gave us.

We had a great Christmas as kids. We got many presents and Ma and Mom really did want us to have what they didn't have when they were little. I think they really loved shopping and giving. And as much as I'm sure I loved the toys and material things, now as an adult, I find it hard to think of really anything  I would want. Sure, there'd be some small little things or books, but even those things, I know I could do without. As an adult and as someone who is trying to pair down and simplify, I would much rather enjoy time with friends and families with a movie, theater, or art exhibit. Making breakfast or brunch - and just hanging out.

Aldis, Ma, and Canned Goods

I first remember hearing about Aldis (yes- the real name is Aldi, but somehow people add the "s," and I'm not the only one) from Ma when I was little. Aldis was the place where Ma went to get cheap canned goods. We had to bring a quarter for the carts and also we had to go during the daylight, because they were in the "not so good" neighborhoods of Indianapolis. Looking back, this was code for poor and probably black neighborhoods.

Ma would stock up on things like canned corn, canned green beans, and maybe some other things that come in a jar. As a kid, I didn't understand how we'd put in a quarter for the cart, and then be able to get it back at the end. This was not the culture at the "other" grocery stores - like Kroger or Marsh. I don't remember bringing our own bags, so we probably used one of their cardboard boxes or maybe sucked it up and bought the 10 cent bag.

Now in my adult life, Aldis is a regular trip for me (between also Trader Joe's and a Morse Market). I smile when I see the German phrases on the frozen food cabinet, "Ziehen, sich an" or "Druecken." I wonder if the other customers know of the German heritage of Aldis? You just don't see a lot of German now in Chicago. (I was a German major in college and had studied German since 6th grade - so I have a fondness toward the culture and language.)

Today, I went to Aldis because we were drastically low on toilet paper, and I also wanted to get some chocolate and candy for Christmas. It was a busy Sunday afternoon. Nearly all the carts were gone, but I got lucky and had one. I spent more than I had expected - 100% maple syrup, three packages of TP, mini-chocolate bars, almond milk, and Christmas candy. It adds up fast.

I think of Ma and wonder if she's smiling down from me. Knowing that she had introduced me to Aldis way back when. And now what might have been the audience for lower socio-economic class, one finds college kids and the middle class shopping along next to each other. One sees familiar faces and new faces (you can tell, because they didn't bring their own bags nor a quarter).

I love you, Ma for so many reasons. And just one of them was that you took me to Aldis.