The most memorable Christmas for me is the year my niece was born. My sister in law went into hospital a few days before the holidays. She was near the end of her second trimester and having difficulty with her pregnancy. My nephew, who was two at the time, stayed with my parents.
We worked hard to make it a nice Christmas for him. On Christmas Eve my parents, brother, nephew and I slept under the same roof. We were up early and opened presents with my nephew. Thomas the tank engine was at his height so we had lots of trains rolling down the tracks in the middle of the livingroom.
My Aunt had invited us to her place in Toronto for dinner so we left around mid afternoon and traveled in convoy. We enjoyed the afternoon with my Grandmother and my Aunt. My nephew was getting tired so we headed home. My brother had driven on ahead to get my nephew into bed. When we arrived home he was walking out the door having heard from his wife. It seems my niece was not waiting until St. Patrick’s Day to be born.
She was born on Boxing Day. I remember my mother waking me up in the wee hours of the morning saying I had a niece and that all were doing well. She had to stay in hospital for a few months but she steadily gained weight and strength.
Today she is a strong and healthy girl who is a very talented figure skater.
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