Merry Christmas 2013, everyone. The original version of the following column was published in December of 2004. But I like to run it regularly at Christmastime as a reminder, since its message remains eternally relevant.

Let us arise from our sofas and easy chairs on Christmas morning to offer a standing ovation to the true Santas of Christmas, those who so willingly, even eagerly, all but sacrifice their holiday to make sure the rest of us can enjoy ours.

I’m speaking primarily of all the mothers and grandmothers who’ve emerged from the shopping wars of recent weeks to ensure that no family member felt left out in any way.

I’m speaking of those who invest hours wrapping those presents. They are the ones who make certain each stocking is evenly stuffed before hurrying to the kitchen to prepare a memorable meal for others.

Odds are they are the ones who will clean up the room carnage of gift-giving.

These Santas likely a the ones who made sure t tree got decorated with h torical family ornaments they likely preserved from Christmases past.

They are the nurturers of our Yuletide who see that the dining table to accommodate the holiday meal they’ve been cooking also is attractively set.

More often than not, they soon will be elbow-deep in the exhausting aftermath of cleaning up after others have gorged, celebrated and left the house.

What would Christmas Day be like in most families without the member who cares enough to rise the earliest on Christmas morning and likely is the last to bed that night?

They are the ones who ungrudgingly put the desires of others before their own to make sure everyone has a memorable day. I can tell you from experience that without them, this day wouldn’t be nearly what many of us have come to expect-and, unfortunately, too often take for granted.

In families across Arkansas, this voluntary servitude has become such a part of Christmas that the selfless caregivers who coordinate the chaos are prone to take even themselves for granted.

It is unfortunate when that happens, for they are too precious not to be cherished.

I’m betting that for many readers, there’s that family member who’ll be up with the sun to continue the process of making smiles on the faces of those around them.

It wouldn’t surprise me if she (okay, there is the occasional he) is stoveside right now, assembling some kind of breakfast casserole or baking cinnamon rolls for tomorrow morning’s breakfast while physically and mentally juggling everything else that might be headed into the oven for Christmas day.

When the awaited time for sharing presents arrives, watch how these true Santas react to the joy and laughter of others.

She’s likely to make certain everyone else has their presents first. That is, unless you and the others around her insist that she receive the place of honor she’s earned.

I watched across a lifetime as my now-departed mother and grandmother Santas lovingly accepted all these Christmas pressures with no complaints and little appreciation in return.

They obviously found fulfillment in serving our family, but I wish now that I’d hugged and thanked them far more than I did when I still could. In hindsight, I realize that too few of us understood how so many of them almost single-handedly made this day so special for the rest of us.

Most homes have similar stories, yet I seldom see them told. Do you?

These unsung nurturers of our Christmases have cared enough to choreograph and produce such vast unselfish productions set to the simple yet tender theme of caring and sharing.

Because of them, everything-the decorated tree, the background music, the wrapped presents and the meals-seamlessly unfolds before us as if the fabled portly elf himself had winked the choreography into existence.

There’s no doubt in many homes that without these mothers and grandmothers (who, by the way, likely also made certain that the morning’s coffee was brewed), so many wonderful Christmas days simply would never have materialized.

Why not take a minute today and tomorrow to sincerely thank your real Santa? What the heck, perhaps to even read this column aloud to her in honor of all of the energy she’s devoted to enriching your life at Christmas? Seal any genuine appreciation you feel with a toast in her honor, along with some richly deserved tender embraces.

You must admit that such remarkable selflessness in this world of “me first” is indeed the real stuff of Christmas and deserves nothing less than our fullest appreciations.

-

———◊-

———

Mike Masterson’s column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at [email protected]. Read his blog at mikemastersonsmessenger.com.

Editorial, Pages 15 on 12/24/2013