#ChristmasMemories With family, you get memories that can be treasured for life. This is a tale of a Christmas long, long ago and the pleasant surprise we received cause the best kind of surprises are ones that fill you with joy and leave you with everlasting memories.
So the family is all gathered for Christmas, but your youngest brother says he can only come home on Christmas day itself. At that time, almost 10 years ago, he was studying in college and couldn't come home earlier because he had classes the day before Christmas.
The best he could do is drive home on Christmas Eve night, reaching early Christmas morning.
In Malaysia, we don't get week-long holidays for Christmas. Schools are closed because it's their year-end break, and the new school year starts in January, but not colleges and universities. As a multi-racial country, we can't get long holidays for the many festivals of the various religions in our country. So it's just a one-day holiday for Christmas.
It sucks and you feel sad because when one family member is not there, it's like the family is not complete... Like a part of you is missing... and it doesn't feel like Christmas till everyone is there. All members of your family.
So we get ready for Christmas, while waiting for my brother to come on Christmas day... Missing him...
Being the youngest, he's the baby of the family, the one my sis and I babysat and changed his diapers, which as good older sisters, we remind him all the time. The guy who goofs around and makes us laugh, but as the only son in the family, he's also the one we turn to when we need things done. So the loss is felt, when he's not around.
But then three days before Christmas, you wake up at 3am to the sound of a car at your front gate... Your phone rings... and it's your brother!
Who, found out that his professors had cancelled classes due to the holidays... so he decided to surprise us... drove all night, on a 1o-hour journey... all the way from the place he was studying... right after class... and be home for Christmas... three days before he said he could be... Surprise at its best!!!
Everyone woke up... excited... My parents... My sister... We probably woke up a few neighbors too with the noise we were making...
Yeahhhh. Pretty sure our neighbors hate us. We're a noisy bunch.
Then the words, “I've been driving the whole night, anything to eat, I'm so so hungry” came out of my brother's mouth.
And my mom was like, “hold my beer”...
Ok my mom doesn't drink but you get the picture.
It's like my brother said the magic words that every mom (I think they do) want to hear, “whatcha cooking momma”...
And when it comes to Indian moms, like mine for example, her son says "hungry" and she goes into full-on kitchen goddess, warrior princess mode, ready to whip up a delicious meal within seconds.
So it didn't matter that it was 4am.
We all sat down to a very early breakfast and a very long chat.
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