One Christmas Morning....

My Mom is a very loving Mom, but she was never an especially demonstrative Mom.  I don't recall Mom ever sitting down to play with us, or coloring with us.  If we got a bedtime story, it was generally Dad who read it.  Mom showed us her love in other ways, but she is not playful or impulsive.

My Mom is also an insomniac.  (Thanks for passing THAT on, Mom!!)  You might find her up and about at any time of night.  One very early Christmas morning, when I was about 14, I got up to get a drink of water. 

It must have been about 2 in the morning, and as I tiptoed down the stairs, I noticed the glow of the Christmas tree lights stretching across the room.  Wondering who left the lights on, and knowing that we always shut them off at bedtime so to not dry out the tree, I quietly went downstairs intending to unplug the tree and get a drink..

There was my Mom, sitting cross-legged on the floor, ever so gently...............holding presents up to her ear one at a time, and shaking them.

I turned around and went back upstairs, my thirst forgotten, and wondering about this side of Mom I had never guessed at.

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