Before I came to St. Olaf, my sister and I were the only two people at home who cared about adding a holiday atmosphere to our house. If we wanted decorations, we had to take agency. Each year, we’d get excited about setting up the Christmas tree, putting a fake wreath on the door, switching out the candles with cinnamon scents, and finding places to display our exponentially growing collection of assorted Christmas trinkets. Now that I’m away at college and not participating in our Christmas decoration extravaganza, the holiday season has slipped away from me. I only realized that Halloween was imminent when I woke up on Oct. 31. In a similar fashion, Thanksgiving didn’t seem to exist until I was driving home two days before.
With all of this being said, I’m writing this piece in praise of my sister, Kyra, for being a constant reminder for me to really appreciate the holiday season and for celebrating Christmas with enough excitement for our entire family.
This year, especially, Kyra has gone above and beyond. In late October, I received a text from her stating: “We’re making Christmas this year feel like it did when we were kids.” While I did slightly doubt her enthusiasm, as she is prone to passionate whims just as I am, when I came home for Thanksgiving, I found myself getting my backpack caught — in every way possible — on the wreath hanging on the front door. Additionally, there were four, normal sized, stockings lining the hallway to my room along with four more miniature stockings — one for each human of the house and one for each cat. What are their names, you ask? Great question: Kiki, Stella, Turtle, and Snubbs.
For some, coming home to a seasonally decorated house might be a not-so-exciting feature of their lives, but for me, it made me realize how much I’ve been neglecting my holiday excitement — and how appreciative I am of my sister for continuing our little traditions, even when her only holiday-excited little-sister-in-crime is gone for most of the season.
Thank you, Kyra.