Dudleys Diary

all grown up. Here it is the day after Christmas and it seems like any other day to me. When I was a kid there was always a big let down the day after. Kinda like being hung over from all of the excitement. I remember being hyped up with anticipation wondering what Christmas morning would bring. Probably full of sugary cookies and sweets as well. I remember being so excited going outside and running around the yard trying to burn off some of the excess energy so I could go to seep and wake up early the next morning to see what Santa Clause had brought me. My sister and I would get up early too. Way before daylight, I am sure. I remember one year I had asked for a sissy bar for my Schwinn Sting-Ray bicycle I had gotten for my birthday. I remember getting up in the middle of the night and sneaking into the den with my flashlight and was thrilled when I saw it leaning up against the wall between the fireplace and the Christmas tree. It was made out of metal and was covered in chrome and it glistened in the glow of my flashlight. It was almost five feet tall and I remember my horror when my foot hit an unseen box on the floor pushing it into the sissy bar before I could reach it. It slid down the paneled wall and was heading down towards the brick fireplace hearth where I knew it would land with a resounding crash. I reached with my arm and was relieved when I grabbed it just in time and put it back in its place. I quickly got my butt down the hall and back to bed. I never was good about waiting to be surprised at Christmas, my sister and I would always find most of our gifts hidden in various placed around the house. After we moved to Fort Worth, our mother played a dirty trick on us and put all of our gifts in a closet with a lock on it and she had the only key hidden where we could not find it. That worked for one Christmas, then I waited until the following summer when she let her guard down. I found the sole key to the closet in her jewelry box, rode my bike down to the hardware store and had me a copy of the key made. I did not even tell my sister until just before Christmas and I knew the closet was loaded with our gifts. I remember telling my sister about my hidden key when the coast was clear. Her first reaction was no I am not going to look in there, mom will kill us. I said OK whatever you think, I guess I won't look either. Within ten minutes she changed her tune demanding to know where the key was. She could not wait to get in that closet and take a look see. We tried to put everything back like we found it but of course we were not able to. I remember hearing my mother talking in whispers to her sister Christmas day telling her she had no idea how but my sister and I had managed to get into Fort Knox and see all of our presents early. So shoot me, I never have been very good at keeping a secret.