Year after year my brothers，sister and I would lie in bed awake on Christmas morning. We were just (1) to hear my father’s voice saying it was all right to (2) .
Usually I was the first one to jump out of bed. I can still
(3) my growing eagerness (渴望) for the
(4) every year.
Even now as I
(5) the boxes of Christmas decorations(装饰品) I can see the same familiar ones：the presents with our birth years on them，our five stockings (长袜)，four for the
(6) ，one for the dog. It used to be easy for us to
(7) when to put up the decorations. But now since we all have
(8) and social lives，it is usually a hurried activity.
As we get older，the season almost brings a
(9) to a little place in our hearts. The worst was the year after my grandparents had
(10) .We couldn’t go to their house to celebrate the holiday any more.
(11) ，we just had a get-together in our house. Now when I
(12) to it，I miss the special
(13) my grandfather gave me for Christmas. I even miss him
(14) me “Jessie”，even though I can’t
(15) when people call me that.
Things change，not always for the good，
(16) not always for the bad either. And the things that don’t
(17) have the most important meaning to us，and I’m sure they will be there for the
(18) of our lives. After all，every time I hear my father’s
(19) “All right ,you guys，come down，nice and slow” and we go down the stairs，first my brother，then me，then my sister，then my older brother，I still
(20) the true Christmas spirit.