Dawn on the Feast of St. Nicholas

It was dawn. Teddy woke up to nurse and wasn’t settling back to sleep. I suspected that he was getting sick. There is a cold making the rounds in our home. Even I woke up with a sore throat and stuffy nose this morning. I picked up Teddy and we tiptoed into the kitchen. I needed a hot cup of lemon-honey tea to soothe my throat and Teddy needed a diaper change. As I shuffled through the kitchen I walked into a hug from my husband as he hurried out the door for work.

With eye still have closed I heard the pitter-patter of feet coming downstairs. It was my son and I knew what he was looking for. He walked right to the shoes that he had left by the door the night before. The apples he had left for St. Nicholas and his helpers were gone and in their place were some exciting gifts. St. Nicholas had left oranges, chocolates, candy canes and a couple new books. My son was thrilled and brought his new book to the couch for a look through. He’d seen the book before but didn’t seem to recognize it. I was a little surprised but perhaps he will remember it when we read it later.

Then I heard a little voice. My son exclaimed that his sister was awake. She fumbled down the stairs into the living room and was pulled towards the shoes by her brother who explained with excitement that treats were left behind by St. Nicholas. Quietly she looked at the book and pointed out the colourful birds. Then Teddy squawked and we moved into our morning rhythm of preparing breakfast.

For ideas on celebrating this special day take a peek at some posts from previous years: Feast of St. Nicholas (2009), Happy Feast of St. Nicholas! (2010), and The Feast of St. Nicholas (2011).