{a cherished holiday tradition: by guest poster Simply Mel of Reverie}

Being a daughter of a Fire Chief, I grew up welcoming Christmas Day with very early morning sunrises. You see, sometimes, the Chief had to work on Christmas Day, and this meant my brother and I would be roused from our beds to open our gifts before dawn. Dad had to leave for the fire station by 7:00 a.m., so in order for all of us to share in the magic of this anticipated day, we would open all our gifts and share a bit of breakfast before the rays of Christmas sunlight peaked through our frosty windows. It became a tradition (including the Christmases in-between the holiday shifts), a very early morning, blurry-eyed, beautiful family tradition which lasted even after my hero, my dad, the Fire Chief retired.

And as the years went by, I would find myself wide awake just waiting for him to open my door and declare, “Mornin’! Merry Christmas!” We would then run down the stairs and be welcomed by the festive atmosphere of the sparkling-lit Christmas tree surrounded by ribbon adorned presents, the smell of freshly brewed coffee, the local radio station playing Christmas songs, and my Dad standing there with the biggest grin on his face and his camera ready in his hands. This is what Christmas was all about….the pure joy that filled every fiber of his being just watching as his two kids gathered around the tree readying themselves to open all the gifts he worked so hard to give us. Every year he checked our lists and made sure he granted our wishes … the perfect pink 10-speed bike, the ‘you’ll shoot your eye out’ bb gun, and the ‘must have this exact one’ black cashmere sweater (yes, this was only a few years ago!). However, the magical sparkle in his eyes every Christmas morning is the one gift that I will cherish the most – forever and always.

So now that I have my own little crumb, we will be starting a new Christmas morning tradition this year. The ‘early rising syndrome’ seems to run in the family which means I will most likely be following in the Fire Chief’s footsteps. And even though this Christmas, there will be 3,000 miles between me and my Dad, I’ll find comfort and joy in knowing that we will both be greeting the morning sunrise with magical sparkles in our eyes as we reminisce upon and begin a holiday tradition that we will forever hold close to our hearts.

{you can find me daydreaming here and learn more about all the pretty things I love here.}

blurry eyed Christmas photograph by Gaia Miette McArdle