Christmas Parties

When we would come to visit around the holidays, often we would get to take Anne to her Special Olympics or Advo Christmas parties. These were always a big party and lots of fun for everyone. They were certainly one of the highlights of the year for Anne. All her friends were there. There was food. There was music and dancing. And best of all, there was Santa. We all remember that Anne never gave up believing in Santa, even when she was 30 years old. That was the same with all her friends. When Santa would come in the room, the crowd would go wild and everyone would immediately line up to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas. Anne would always get in line and tell Santa what she wanted while sitting on his lap! It was always funny because Mom would have a hard time figuring out what to get Anne for Christmas but Anne wouldn’t tell mom because “Santa already knew.” One time Mom tried to tell Anne that Santa wasn’t real, and that Mom was the real Santa. Anne responded indignantly, “You are NOT Santa! Do you have rosy red cheeks? Do you live at the North Pole? Do you have a white beard? Do you have a belly that jiggles like a bowl full of jelly? I don’t think so!” That pretty much settled it in her mind.

Of the many parties I attended, there are a couple of memories that stick out in my mind.

Once, after Jennifer and I had just gotten married, we were all at the Special Olympics Christmas party and when the music came on, we all started dancing. One of Anne’s friends asked me to dance. I can’t remember exactly who it was, but this particular girl who had a crush on me and always told Anne about it. While we were dancing, Anne followed us out on the dance floor to keep an eye on us. She was very concerned that this girl was going to lure me away from my new bride. Towards the end of the song, Anne decided she’d had enough, so she leaned over and told her friend, “He’s taken!” while pointing to my wedding ring. With that, Anne rested her case. She was always very protective of those closest to her and this was a perfect example of it.

Another time, we went to the Advo Christmas party. I had just arrived in town and everyone else had a long week, so just Anne and I went to the party. She was so proud that I came with her, as soon as we walked in the door, she yelled out, “We’re here! This is my brother Scott. He lives in Fort Worth.” The party was already going and it was so loud that nobody really heard us but Anne didn’t notice. The rest of the night, Anne repeated the introduction to everyone we saw, whether they were listening or not. She made me feel like a celebrity, and we had a great time.