Christmas in Oklahoma


I was very flattered to be asked to contribute my Christmas memories to Vanity Fair, ooops, I mean BRETTnews. Some memories are a little bittersweet but all are special, wonderful. Here are a few of my musings on Christmases past...

About 1965. I was seven. Riding in our 1962 Plymouth Valiant to Grandma Triplett's house in Jay, Oklahoma, about an hour and a half northeast of Tulsa. We had a real white Christmas that year. Some of the rural Oklahoma roads were still gravel in 1965 and I can still remember the sound of tires and gravel and snow. We couldn't wait to get from one little town to the next to see the downtown Christmas decorations. From Catoosa to Claremore to Pryor to Strang and then Jay, we marveled at each one. As I remember, Pryor had the best decorations. It looked a lot like downtown Bedford Falls, it wouldn't have surprised me to see George Bailey walking down Main Street...

My Grandfather Wilson (Papa) wore a red vest every year. Maybe that's why I felt compelled to buy a red vest for myself this year.

Mom and Dad stuffed our stockings every year when we were kids. Typical contents: an apple, an orange, some nuts and a box of crackerjack. When we got to be teenagers, our parents thought we had gotten too old for stockings. We informed them that they were quite mistaken. We all stuff each other's stockings every year but now the contents may include home-made granla from my sister in Colorado (how appropriate), tapes from my musician brother and a Christmas ornament from me. When I was little, our house didn't hav a fireplace so our stockings were hung on the Hi-fi, don't ask me why.

1988., Our first Christmas as husband and wife. Going to midnight services on Christmas Eve. It was a candlelight service and the sight of hundreds of tiny flickering candles and the sound of the congregation singing Silent Night almost made me cry.

1992. Going to see my Grandmother Wilson (Mimi) in the hospital in Norman, Oklahoma, on Christmas knowing it would be her last. 88 years ld. I loved her so.

This year, 1993, our third Christmas in Fort Worth, Texas. My husband, Clark, and I will celebrate our first Christmas with our beautiful 5-month-old baby daughter, Sarah Rose. My sister will bring home her new husband for his first Christmas in Oklahoma. I can't wait to load the car, head north and jion our families once again for another joyous holiday. Merry Christmases all. May you all experience God's blessings at Christmas and throughout the year.

--Debra Wilson Million


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