It was Christmas of 1994 and my family and I had just moved into a new house on the upper west side of Tucson with the beautiful Starrpass Mountains as our backyard. It was a beautiful four bedroom, two and a half bathroom house with an extra large family/dinning room and a traditional brick fireplace with a modern skylight. It was large enough to accompany our entire family, both my father's side and mother's side. And since we were blessed with such a grand home, it was decided that our house would be the house to have Christmas that year.
My mother had spent days before the big event, preparing to create a fabulous feast that would be remembered for Christmases to come. There was a tangy peppered roast turkey, a ham covered with a honey, brown sugar and cinnamon glaze, greenbeans with silvered honeyed almonds, red potatoes floating in a bath of butter and oh so much more! It truly was going to be a feast of wild and ravenous delight!
On Christmas day, we awoke to a large, classic, Douglas Fir surrounded by presents. Santa had apparently come the previous night and had read my list because I had the fully poseable, karate chop action, Mighty Morphin Power Ranger Action Figure of my dreams! I knew it was going to be the best Christmas ever! Of course, I now know I spoke too soon. Before we left for church that day, my mom placed the turkey and ham in the oven, letting the meats soak and cook in their delectable juices.
After we got home, family members began to arrive one by one. There was an array of hors d'oeuvre's with shrimp, crudite, breads, cheeses, dips and spreads and very soon, the party was in full swing. There was a sentimental feeling, as all around voices could be heard singing, "Let's be jolly; Deck the halls with boughs of holly." Okay, maybe it wasn't that picture perfect, but it was just as fun.
Soon it was time for dinner, and it was at that exact moment in time when my mother discovered our oven was broken. Sometime between church and the hors d'oeuvre's our oven had stopped working and absolutely nothing was cooked. Everyone was too busy mingling to notice that no heavy, warm aroma's were swifting through the air. Stomachs were growling and my fearful parents tried to concoct a plan that would save Christmas. Immeadiately, they began to knock on our new neighbor's houses, explaining their horrific situation and asking if they could use their ovens.
What happened next, became Christmas lore in our family. My mom and dad ran from house to house in our neighborhood cul-de-sac, carrying dish after dish. It was quite the sight to see, as my parents ran throughout the neighborhood with casserole dishes in tow. Time was passing slowly and everyone was growing more and more hungry. Once she realized her perfect dinner would never be a reality, my mother finally gave up, pulled out a couple dozen frozen tamales from the freezer and called Domino's Pizza. That year, we were introduced to a non-traditonal Italian Thanksgiving and to this day, I get such a yen for eggnog everytime I have black olive and sausage pizza.
So if you dont get that toy you always wanted or if your turkey goes up in flames, as long as you're surrounded by the people you love, you can never have a bad Christmas! Merry Christmas, from my family to yours!
My mother had spent days before the big event, preparing to create a fabulous feast that would be remembered for Christmases to come. There was a tangy peppered roast turkey, a ham covered with a honey, brown sugar and cinnamon glaze, greenbeans with silvered honeyed almonds, red potatoes floating in a bath of butter and oh so much more! It truly was going to be a feast of wild and ravenous delight!
On Christmas day, we awoke to a large, classic, Douglas Fir surrounded by presents. Santa had apparently come the previous night and had read my list because I had the fully poseable, karate chop action, Mighty Morphin Power Ranger Action Figure of my dreams! I knew it was going to be the best Christmas ever! Of course, I now know I spoke too soon. Before we left for church that day, my mom placed the turkey and ham in the oven, letting the meats soak and cook in their delectable juices.
After we got home, family members began to arrive one by one. There was an array of hors d'oeuvre's with shrimp, crudite, breads, cheeses, dips and spreads and very soon, the party was in full swing. There was a sentimental feeling, as all around voices could be heard singing, "Let's be jolly; Deck the halls with boughs of holly." Okay, maybe it wasn't that picture perfect, but it was just as fun.
Soon it was time for dinner, and it was at that exact moment in time when my mother discovered our oven was broken. Sometime between church and the hors d'oeuvre's our oven had stopped working and absolutely nothing was cooked. Everyone was too busy mingling to notice that no heavy, warm aroma's were swifting through the air. Stomachs were growling and my fearful parents tried to concoct a plan that would save Christmas. Immeadiately, they began to knock on our new neighbor's houses, explaining their horrific situation and asking if they could use their ovens.
What happened next, became Christmas lore in our family. My mom and dad ran from house to house in our neighborhood cul-de-sac, carrying dish after dish. It was quite the sight to see, as my parents ran throughout the neighborhood with casserole dishes in tow. Time was passing slowly and everyone was growing more and more hungry. Once she realized her perfect dinner would never be a reality, my mother finally gave up, pulled out a couple dozen frozen tamales from the freezer and called Domino's Pizza. That year, we were introduced to a non-traditonal Italian Thanksgiving and to this day, I get such a yen for eggnog everytime I have black olive and sausage pizza.
So if you dont get that toy you always wanted or if your turkey goes up in flames, as long as you're surrounded by the people you love, you can never have a bad Christmas! Merry Christmas, from my family to yours!
