+Christmas Eve Essays - Temperature Control, Switches, Thermostat

+Christmas Eve Jenny Leigh Parker 12/16/98 It was Four o Clock P.M. on December the twenty fourth. The grandfather clock ticked away the hours. It seemed like three hours had gone by. Then, the clock said that it had only been fifteen minutes. I had to do something to help the time pass. I thought that a nice long nap would make the day go faster. My sister wanted to join me. I laid there listening to my sister snore , which made me so upset. How could she possibly fall asleep so fast, plus her obnoxious snoring kept me awake. Finally, I fell asleep, but only for about ten minutes. I woke up to the aroma of my moms famous banana cream pie. I heard the garage door open, and my dads rip roaring Bonneville pulled into the garage. I was so afraid. My dad has this phobia of having a cold house. (In his early years, the house he grew up in, only had one fireplace, and he slept on the other side of the house. He would wake up with icicle toes and be numb all over his body. He could see the air condensation appearing in front of him). After that, he has always had our house scorching hot. He usually has our house's thermostats to about ninety nine degrees. I'll bet I could roast an egg on top of my head. I had also just gotten it to the perfect temperature for the rest of the family. As I expected, the first thing he did when he walked in the door was head straight for the thermostats, and to turn those suckers up until they were ready to explode. My dad knows that I am the only one in the household that can adjust the temperature. So, there was no way I could ever get away with a stunt like that. The next thing I heard was the ceiling fans starting to turn. I have an upstairs bedroom, so, all the excess heat comes into my room. I was beginning to feel the heat creep upstairs. I knew I was a goner. I had a plan, I would step outside and sit in a snowbank for awhile, then inside, maybe the heat wouldn't bother me. I stepped outside. The coldness struck me like a thousand knives. The temperature was below zero. It was just about the right temperature to make my plan work. I was walking through snowflakes and the cold wind was blowing in my face. I plopped down in the white snow. I could feel that my body was soaked. I was extremely cold. I thought that for sure I was frostbitten through my toes. I was determined not to leave until I knew for sure I was freezing from top to bottom. I stepped inside, only to find that I was beginning to break into a sweat. My plan was unsuccessful. I went upstairs, changed out of my itchy, scratchy, turtleneck, fuzzy fluffy, sweater and corduroy slacks. Then, slipped into a sleeveless shirt and pair of denim shorts. That was the way to go as long I stayed in the house the rest of the night. After all the battles with heat, we had finally came to a mutual agreement. I stepped downstairs and first thing I smelled was the pine from our Christmas tree. That is the best smell. I love the outdoors. I then realized that it wasn't the tree I was smelling. It was my mom's pine scented candles that she had been burning. The family dinner was absolutely delicious. I love all the different smells from a home cooked meal. What delight that brings to me. It has been a tradition of mine for a couple of years, to wear myself out on Christmas Eve and do gymnastics. I ended up doing fifty cartwheels on each side. Seventy five back walkovers, twenty five front walkovers, and one hundred backhand springs. Keep in mind, I had just eaten a huge meal. I was ready to pass out. I felt so sick, out of breath and exhausted. I fell asleep pretty quick. Christmas season is my favorite time of the year because of all the different smells, feelings,