'It reminds me of the youthful enthusiasm most of us have for the Christmas holiday season. Like the Christmas movie The Polar Express, I do my best to hear Santa ringing his bell every Christmas.”
For the first 10 years of his life, Ken lived in a two family house. His own nuclear family lived on the bottom floor, and his maternal grandparents lived on the second story. He was always going back and forth between the two households.
I was the youngest of four children, and the only boy. So I was known as ‘Momma’s precious baby boy.’ My sisters were always jealous of the extra attention I would get. So, going to see my grandmother upstairs was a nice reprieve from my sisters’ teasing. This was particularly important in winter months, when it was difficult to go outside and play in central New York State.
Ken developed a particularly close relationship with his grandmother.
I don’t recall any specific instances with my grandmother, but rather the general comfort I felt knowing she was always available when I needed her. My maternal grandmother was like a second mother to me when my mom was busy helping my siblings with other activities. I would sneak up to my grandmother’s flat to eat a second dinner or to have dessert.
These memories are embodied by a Christmas decoration, on display here.
The Santa bank was given to me as a Christmas present by my maternal grandmother when I was approximately eight years old. Being eight or so at the time, you start to get allowance and need a place to keep it. Also, it’s a time you start to wonder if Santa is really real or not, so to reinforce the magic of Christmas time I am sure was a major motivation. It was brand new and shiny when I received it.
For Ken, childhood Christmases were always a magical time.
Both my mom and grandmother always worked very hard to make the holiday season special for us kids — from baking cookies and stringing popcorn to put on the tree, to making a handmade gifts for our Secret Santa every year.
As an adult, these childhood memories are revived each year when he pulls out the boxes of Christmas decorations in his own home. Among these items is the Santa bank.
Pulling this decoration out of our Christmas storage boxes each year brings back an instant flood of memories of my childhood – the smells and tastes of Christmas cookies, and preparing other foods for the holiday season.
But the bank is about more than just Christmas – it’s about family.
While initially it was a treasured holiday ornament that I enjoyed for its own sake during Christmastime, over the years it has come to represent much more - family, comfort, and other cherished memories of my childhood, as well as the memories of my long past grandparents and parents. It evokes a sense of warmth, comfort, love, and caring.