bouncy chair after having a bottle. The rest of us were in a mad dash to get our costumes on and start the play. Ashley loved a baby as much as the next person, but nothing was getting in the way of her Christmas play. Kyle and Lindsey showed up promptly at quarter to eight and were brought up to speed on the most recent miracle.
"Maybe we'll have a miracle of our own this time next year," Kyle hinted after hearing the tale.
"Your grandmother said she's counting on it, dear," chimed in Mammaw.
We all groaned.
"Yeah, it's a darn shame we didn't find Diana a feller. What the haints got to say about that?" Granddaddy Hacker demanded.
Mammaw had tilted her head slightly. Her Army hat was just barely staying out of her eyes. She put her finger to her lips.
"Nothing more important than a good man." Aunt Pearl gave a sly look at Granddad.
 I rolled my eyes as I manned the stage entrance, waiting for Ashley to finish lining up The Grands, Dan, and Kyle. "I have a good man," I hollered.
"Urmph! That so, then where's he at?" Granddaddy Hacker demanded.
Ashley interrupted the discussion. "It's go time." Her face was flushed with excitement.
I had to smile. "You've done a great job, Ashley. And you look fab in that dress." She actually looked a little like Vera-Ellen with her blond hair pulled up in a pony tail and wearing the perfectly fitting blue satin dress.
My dress didn't fit quite so well, and it was a darker shade of blue. But hey, I was just a bridesmaid here. This was Ashley's big day. Besides, the matching red velvet gowns Ashley had found for the Grand Finale scene were stunning. I glanced around at the motley crew behind me. I was in charge of helping The Grands get dressed in their Christmas finery during our one costume change. The dress rehearsal had not gone well. Even though I loved the red gown, I wasn't sure it was worth the trouble of a costume change. But there'd been no talking Ashley out of it. It wouldn't be a play without a costume change, she reasoned. Yeah, right.
The lights flickered and dimmed three times. "Oh, no! Not a power outage now," Ashley cried.
"Don't worry, dear, that's just the signal that the show's starting," Mammaw said.
"Like at the Opry," Granddaddy Hacker added.
"When have you ever been to the Opera?" Uncle Grover asked haughtily.
"I seen it on the boob tube," Granddaddy insisted.
"How fitting!" Uncle Grover shot back.
"Hush, you two," Ashley scolded. "So you're saying you dimmed the lights?"
"Weren't us," Aunt Pearl insisted.
Mammaw pointed up; we all looked up.
"Just tell them not to mess with the lights during the show," Ashley huffed.
"Oh, they won't. They promised to sit quietly," Mammaw replied.
Ashley put her hand to her forehead. "Let's just start."
I leaned out of the curtain to give my dad the signal to cue the music. The audience included The Parents, Granddad, Victoria, Jake, and baby Matthew, and Lindsey. And four empty chairs. I didn't even bother to ask Mammaw how many ghosts she'd been talking to or to ask Dan why he put out a dozen chairs when there were only eight of us. It was Christmas, and all things were possible.
The play went as well as could be expected. Suffice it to say, we weren't being called up to Broadway anytime soon. But, during the last scene, as the whole family sang "White Christmas" together with Granddad plucking out the notes I'd taught him on his Gibson, I realized that of all the miracles I'd seen this Christmas, the change in my heart was by far the greatest. I had found my Christmas spirit again. No easy task for a Grinch like me. Don't get me wrong, you won't find me recommending a good ol' fashioned family Christmas vacation to anyone. Really, there has to be an easier way to get in the Christmas spirit than to spend four days with my family. But if you happen to find yourself in similar straits, here's a tip for you: be sure to bring plenty of eggnog.
The lights flashed again as we sang the last few words. "Guess the
"Maybe we'll have a miracle of our own this time next year," Kyle hinted after hearing the tale.
"Your grandmother said she's counting on it, dear," chimed in Mammaw.
We all groaned.
"Yeah, it's a darn shame we didn't find Diana a feller. What the haints got to say about that?" Granddaddy Hacker demanded.
Mammaw had tilted her head slightly. Her Army hat was just barely staying out of her eyes. She put her finger to her lips.
"Nothing more important than a good man." Aunt Pearl gave a sly look at Granddad.
 I rolled my eyes as I manned the stage entrance, waiting for Ashley to finish lining up The Grands, Dan, and Kyle. "I have a good man," I hollered.
"Urmph! That so, then where's he at?" Granddaddy Hacker demanded.
Ashley interrupted the discussion. "It's go time." Her face was flushed with excitement.
I had to smile. "You've done a great job, Ashley. And you look fab in that dress." She actually looked a little like Vera-Ellen with her blond hair pulled up in a pony tail and wearing the perfectly fitting blue satin dress.
My dress didn't fit quite so well, and it was a darker shade of blue. But hey, I was just a bridesmaid here. This was Ashley's big day. Besides, the matching red velvet gowns Ashley had found for the Grand Finale scene were stunning. I glanced around at the motley crew behind me. I was in charge of helping The Grands get dressed in their Christmas finery during our one costume change. The dress rehearsal had not gone well. Even though I loved the red gown, I wasn't sure it was worth the trouble of a costume change. But there'd been no talking Ashley out of it. It wouldn't be a play without a costume change, she reasoned. Yeah, right.
The lights flickered and dimmed three times. "Oh, no! Not a power outage now," Ashley cried.
"Don't worry, dear, that's just the signal that the show's starting," Mammaw said.
"Like at the Opry," Granddaddy Hacker added.
"When have you ever been to the Opera?" Uncle Grover asked haughtily.
"I seen it on the boob tube," Granddaddy insisted.
"How fitting!" Uncle Grover shot back.
"Hush, you two," Ashley scolded. "So you're saying you dimmed the lights?"
"Weren't us," Aunt Pearl insisted.
Mammaw pointed up; we all looked up.
"Just tell them not to mess with the lights during the show," Ashley huffed.
"Oh, they won't. They promised to sit quietly," Mammaw replied.
Ashley put her hand to her forehead. "Let's just start."
I leaned out of the curtain to give my dad the signal to cue the music. The audience included The Parents, Granddad, Victoria, Jake, and baby Matthew, and Lindsey. And four empty chairs. I didn't even bother to ask Mammaw how many ghosts she'd been talking to or to ask Dan why he put out a dozen chairs when there were only eight of us. It was Christmas, and all things were possible.
The play went as well as could be expected. Suffice it to say, we weren't being called up to Broadway anytime soon. But, during the last scene, as the whole family sang "White Christmas" together with Granddad plucking out the notes I'd taught him on his Gibson, I realized that of all the miracles I'd seen this Christmas, the change in my heart was by far the greatest. I had found my Christmas spirit again. No easy task for a Grinch like me. Don't get me wrong, you won't find me recommending a good ol' fashioned family Christmas vacation to anyone. Really, there has to be an easier way to get in the Christmas spirit than to spend four days with my family. But if you happen to find yourself in similar straits, here's a tip for you: be sure to bring plenty of eggnog.
The lights flashed again as we sang the last few words. "Guess the
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