The text message that popped up
on my cell phone surprised me. It was
from my middle brother. We often don’t
touch base for several months…time, distance, and different interests all
factor into that. In part, his message
said, “For some reason I was having
trouble getting in the holiday spirit…so on comes The Polar Express...”
Heartfelt words from my
brother. I reflected on his message
before texting back, “The Polar Express
will definitely put you in the holiday spirit!
Sing some Christmas carols, too.”
(He has a great singing voice.)
Over the next few days he texted
me short phrases from Charles Dickens’ book, A
Christmas Carol. Conversations from
Jacob Marley and Ebenezer Scrooge filled my message box.
Marley:
“I wear the chain I forged in life.”
Scrooge:
“Speak a word of comfort to me.”
Marley:
“I have none to give, I can’t rest, I can’t stay, can’t linger ever!”
A Christmas Carol is one of our favorite stories and I enjoyed this
holiday exchange between us. I also
understood his touch of melancholy. We’re
adults now…the special excitement of past Christmases when we were young
children is gone.
His next text flooded me with
happy memories—when he was a little boy who still believed in Santa Claus he
heard the sleigh bells that night when no one else did.
“Ya’ know, Sis…I can still hear the bells on
Santa’s Sleigh!”
