One memorable Christmas Eve when we were pre-schoolers, my sister Laura and I spent the night at our grandparents’ house.  At bedtime, Grandma told us to settle down on the sofa on the “back porch”, a small, 4-season enclosure just off the kitchen.  The room was just big enough to contain a small sofa facing a picture window to the back yard. Grandma helped us get ready for bed and settled for sleep. The almost-full moon was so bright that I hardly noticed when she turned off the lights and told us to sit still and watch for Santa and his reindeer-flown sled. She reminded us that he can see how we are behaving, so we had better be quiet and still! We watched silently, waiting in full belief we would soon see him. Laura, one year younger than I, soon fell asleep. I, on the other hand would not miss the possible treat of seeing Santa!

Grandma and Grandpa went to their room for the night. The house was quiet but my eyelids were still wide open in anticipation! Suddenly, from the right middle of the picture window, I saw the flying reindeer pulling Santa and his sleigh in the direction of the upper left of the picture window, clipping the moon! Of course I didn’t want to wake everybody to tell them or Santa would know that I was being naughty, so I gasped, held my mouth covered, and watched in astonishment! I decided I had better close my eyes and pretend to sleep in case Santa would be coming to our house next. I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep, and woke up the next morning to a tree full of presents!

Yes, I’m now a grown woman of sound mind and I realize this story is rather fantastic.  It is, however, just as I remember it from my 4-ish-year-old, first-hand memory!  Maybe I had a colorful imagination back then, or maybe I was visualizing an animated film I had seen on television.  Or maybe, just maybe, I actually glimpsed Santa Claus in flight that memorable Christmas Eve!