This blog post was originally published on December 15, 2019.

“Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’” (Ps 126:2)

In 1983, Santa brought me the most coveted of all Christmas gifts that year—a Cabbage Patch doll. She had brown yarn for hair, a plastic head with the sweetest dimples, and a fabric body.

I was six years old and beside myself with excitement. I couldn’t wait to show my grandma. Every year, Grandma gave her stamp of approval on the gifts my brother and I received.

When we arrived at Grandma’s, I clambered out of the car and ran into the house. I bounced on my toes, holding my baby doll out for inspection.

“Look! See what Santa brought me!”

Grandma scrunched up her face. “Well, isn’t she ugly?”

She must have seen the devastation on my face because she quickly added, “I mean, she’s so ugly, she’s cute!”

And then she laughed.

Grandma’s laugh was contagious, and I laughed, too, immediately overlooking the offense that I knew she hadn’t intended. I didn’t really know what “she’s so ugly, she’s cute” meant, but what I did know was that I had Grandma’s approval.

“She’s so ugly, she’s cute” became a running joke between Grandma and me—an inside joke that we enjoyed well into my adult years. Sharing this with my grandma made me feel special. To be honest, Grandma had a way of making everyone in her life feel special, whether we shared an inside joke with her or not.

Most of my favorite memories—Christmas and otherwise—revolve around my grandma.

As a child, we all gathered at my grandparents’ house before Christmas so that each family unit could spend Christmas Day together. My grandparents had six kids, and all but two lived close enough to participate. I remember playing with my cousins, listening to the grownups’ stories, and hearing my grandma’s laugh.

My grandma has been gone for many years now, but what I remember most is her laugh and the joy she brought to everyone around her.

Dear Jesus, thank you for so many good memories from my childhood. Thank you for my grandma’s loving, generous heart, her friendship, and her legacy. Amen.