There was a fabric-upholstered rocker in my parents’ living room in Rock Creek.
Its color was brown with a pattern and it was made where you could wrap your hands around the curved wooden ends of the padded armrests on each side. It probably wasn’t really a rocker. It was sort of a rocker/recliner. It couldn’t swivel and it couldn’t continuously rock back-and-forth. It could just lean back, and it could rock.
When I was grammar school age and younger, my daddy could sit it in that rocker for hours, writing, reading his Bible, watching television (before they rearranged the den in the back of the house) or listening to my mother play hymns on her piano. Before I got too big, I could sit in that chair with my daddy. That’s probably where I watched my first football game on our black-and-white television and heard stories about his football playing days.
I loved that old rocker. It seemed magical to me back then.
That brings me to a Christmas Eve back in the mid-1950s. I’m sure that we had been sitting in that chair, daddy talking about the Christmas story and mother playing ‘Joy to the World’ and ‘Silent Night.’ But, when they told me that it was time to go to bed, I said, ”No.”
Actually, I probably said “OK, I’ll go to sleep, but I don’t want to go to bed.”
I told them that I was going to sleep on the floor behind daddy’s rocker. It never seemed fair that Santa Claus would come to the house, but I never got to see him. So, I was going to sleep there on the floor and when he came in, it would wake me up.
Much to my surprise, they agreed. Mother brought the pillow from my bed; we put out cookies for Santa (it didn’t seem significant at the time that they put out pecan sandies, my daddy’s favorite); they covered me with one of my grandmother’s handmade quilts; and I dozed off, confident that I would see Santa when he arrived (even though our chimney was blocked by a fire screen and two heavy andirons).
Morning did arrive. When my parents woke me, I was in my bed, head on that same pillow, lights shining on the Christmas tree in front of the picture window. Santa Claus had come; I had missed him again and only crumbs were left on the cookie plate. Of course, I was disappointed and I never did get an explanation how I ended up in my bed.
Things hadn’t gone as I wanted, but the morning surprise still came and I’m pretty sure that things worked out OK.
Sitting here a few days before Christmas, thinking back over the 2022 football season, that memory came to mind.
For so many college football teams and fans this year, things didn’t go as planned.
Teams that were ranked high before the season, weren’t celebrating when the holiday season rolled around. Texas A&M, ranked No. 5 by Lindy’s, was lucky to win five games. Oklahoma State and Oklahoma were ranked in our preseason Top 10 and didn’t come close. Notre Dame, ranked No. 8, lost its first two games, including at home to Marshall. Baylor, Arkansas, Miami, Michigan State and others underachieved.
Teams that weren’t ranked high before the season, exceeded expectations. Tennessee, irrelevant on the national scene for so long, teased fans with national championship potential. LSU, also ranked outside Lindy’s preseason Top 25, won the SEC West and played in the SEC Championship Game. Tulane won 11 games, won its conference championship, and will play Southern Cal in the Cotton Bowl. (Let that sink in for a minute!) And, TCU, the biggest surprise of the 2022 season, lost only in the Big 12 title game and is in the CFP final four.
Head coaches lost their jobs … Scott Frost, Paul Chryst, Herm Edwards, Bryan Harsin. Head coaches found new jobs … Matt Rhule, Luke Fickell, Kenny Dillingham, Hugh Freeze. All of these and others will be looking for new opportunities and new successes among their wishes for the New Year.
The 2022 calendar year also gave us vivid reminders of how insignificant games on the field really are.
Virginia players were shot to death in Charlottesville. Idaho students were stabbed to death in Moscow. Violence and killings and law-breaking protests continued around the country. Instead of a joyous Christmas, many families are homeless and many children face illnesses from which they won’t recover.
It’s similar around the world. Disease, famine and unrest are rampant on every occupied continent. Innocent freedom-loving people are attacked daily by missiles and bombs from an insane tyrant with no concern for human life. The forces of evil ignore and run roughshod over this season of redemption and peace.
There are lessons from Christmas … Those who are blessed should always acknowledge their gratitude. Those who face challenges and disappointments should never lose their hope. Those who have should help those who have not. And, the gift from God to all of His people, especially at Christmas time, is the most significant thing about this holiday season.
Still, to a young country boy, just wanting to see the real Santa Claus, there can be disappointments.
We still have my daddy’s favorite rocker. It’s re-covered now with faux-leather, a green color with patterns, still with the padded armrests with wooden hand grips on each side.
It will always be a magical reminder to me about my parents and my home in Rock Creek, about the real significance of Christmas, and about the prayers for peace and love for people everywhere in the world.
That chair isn’t prominently located in our house now, but maybe it should be. I’ll likely never sleep behind it again, but maybe I should.
Maybe next time, I’ll see Santa.
Merry Christmas to everyone and wishes for a blessed New Year … without too many disappointments!
