I have to tell you…being a Jeweler during the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays is tough. Sure, the month of December is huge for business, but it comes with a lot of sacrifice. Working seven days a week, long hours, from Black Friday until Christmas Eve is grueling. Like I said in a prior post…”We are Santa Claus”. No excuse for a gift not being ready for Christmas Eve. No room for error or anything else. Got to be perfect and on time. Jewelry is often the premier or biggest gift of the holiday for loved ones. We’ve never had to say we’re sorry though and I’m proud of that record. The sacrifice is not being able to enjoy the holiday festivities with your family every year. No shopping trips or travels to see the holiday light shows or Rockefeller Center trip to New York City…you get the idea. No time. I would work straight through the month until 5:30 Xmas eve and rush home to help my wife finish cooking dinner for twenty. Every year we hosted my entire family. Lori’s fabulous array of appetizers would be almost gone by the time I got home. The ride home from the store was kind of depressing. The only people on the roads were the desperate trying to find someplace open for last minute gifts, and me. This year was different.
The 1996 holiday working season would have to take a backseat to my recovery. I was able to go into the store for a little bit to check on things and meet vendors. The majority of the time though, I would be quarterbacking the business from home. This was not easy. We had expanded the store earlier in the year and were carrying many new and different lines of merchandise. Thankfully, my employees were up to the task and things went well. First time in a while that I was able to be home for Xmas eve and yes…appetizer heaven. Except, I still was barely able to eat. What a bummer. No taste and no appetite. Santa Claus was coming to town though . It would be Nick’s first excitable Christmas. Almost three years old, it would be a big deal for him. And us. Joey would be three months old and oblivious to the excitement. We had the usual hectic and familial scene at the house on this special night. It is always special to have our whole family together, celebrating, eating, catching up and opening our pajama presents. A tradition started by my grandmother and continued by my Mom. Gifts of Xmas eve pajamas for everyone to open that night and wear while those visions of sugar plums danced in your head. When everyone had gone home, we put the presents for the boys and each other to open Christmas morning under our tree.
Six months earlier, I didnt know if I would see another Christmas Eve. This was indeed a very special year. I had made it. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! So I thought.
NEXT UP: Salad Bars and Salmonella.