Cate Pedersen is a freelance
writer, editor and social media manager. She recently published her first novel
and is working on books two and three in the Sister Spirit Series. She is also
a contributor in It’s Really 10 Months: Special Delivery, an anthology of birth stories (Special Xmas Sale NOW
on Amazon) and an upcoming anthology: Adventures in Potty Training. Cate’s
children are now almost grown, so Christmas is not quite as busy, but will
always hold a magical place in her heart. Read her “12 Blogs of Christmas” post
to find out why!
My Christmas Mystery Man
There is
certain magic I experience right at midnight on Christmas Eve. The entire world
seems to pause and the air is different somehow. I relax completely, despite
the recent whirlwind of activity over the past few days and the maelstrom which
is to come Christmas morning and continue until New Year. My spine tingles with
anticipation as the hour and minute hands join; I almost want to cheer, “It’s
here, it’s here!” I look forward to it every year. I cannot recall ever going
to bed earlier than midnight on that auspicious night— especially as a child,
waiting up for sounds of bells and scraping hooves on the roof.
When my son
and daughter were young, it was the same performance each Christmas Eve; I knew
my cues perfectly and waited until I heard regular breathing through my
daughter’s bedroom door. She was always last to fall asleep. Her father had
been the first. I collect the presents hidden under my bed, in closets, above
bookcases and wedged between storage containers. I tiptoe towards the tree with
an armful of brightly papered boxes with colour-coordinated bows (and extra
tape) . . . then freeze as the ball of my foot puts pressure on that part of
the floor that squeaks. I imagine the cracking of wood sending shudders through
the hall, and under the beds of my sleeping children, jarring them awake . . . Read more
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