‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the quarters,
Excitement was building for sons and for daughters.
Waiting for chocolates and presents galore,
If only dear Santa could fit through the door.
Now how can Saint Nicholas sneak into a house,
That’s patched up with botch tape and riddled with louse?
The chimney is blocked up by 10 years of grime.
The letter box crooked, roof covered in slime.
A risk assessors nightmare to say the least,
For Santa, his sleigh, and his reindeer-beast.
One foot near that quarter could end in disaster
Santa’s in A&E covered in plaster!
‘Twas the night before Christmas and Jennifer Hook,
Was hoping to put on her turkey to cook.
As she turned on her cooker, knob covered in rust,
Came a flash and a bang – that oven was bust!
So Jennifer does the best thing that she can,
Cooking dinner for 10, in a frying pan.
‘Twas the night before Christmas, and the Jones Family,
Were sad for the Christmas that might have been.
They’d planned for the family, all cosy and quiet,
(Last Christmas was busy, and ended in riot)!
This year would be different, just a family of four,
Leaving carrots for Rudolph outside the back door.
Singing their favourite Christmas tunes,
Searching for sleigh shadows, crossing the moon.
Just two weeks before, the phone call had come,
And suddenly four, became two kids and mum.
Their father had flown with his bag and a tear,
Saying “Happy Christmas Babies” I’ll see you next year.
‘Twas the week before Christmas and poor Aimee Fogg,
Was nervously pacing the floor like a dog.
Waiting for news to come over the phone,
To tell her the last flight was on its was home.
Carrying husband and his old kit bag,
And the pile of gifts that he said he had,
From the place he’d been, for 6 months or more.
Kids waiting for Daddy to walk through the door.
Knowing that everything would be OK,
Once they knew that Daddy was on his way.
But the flight was delayed the replacement not there
To take Daddy’s place, a new bum in the chair.
So the Christmas they thought that the family would have,
Was again, minus one, and Missing their Dad.
‘Twas the night before Christmas and Suzie Maloney,
Was sat on detachment feeling terribly lonely.
She had no kids of her own to miss,
But she longed to get home for a Christmas kiss.
Her new wife at home celebrating with Mum,
She knew the festivities by now, had begun.
She picked up the phone, and she tried to smile,
Saying I miss you babe, Its been a long while.
‘Twas the night before Christmas and all over the world,
Were military families, their lives in a twirl.
Putting on brave faces and laughing along,
Hoping next year, will be different song.
From detachments, to quarters, to those serving at sea,
No body could guess how this Christmas would be.
Would we spend it together? Would we spend it alone?
Would we say happy Christmas from over the phone?
Would we have the discussion of “who’s turn to host”?
To be with the ones that we love the most?
Preparation and planning that goes belly up.
Our quarters break, our hearts almost give up.
But what’s special about a Christmas, military style?
When we all pool together to make a lone one smile.
To help feed the “shifties”, and send them a bake,
Home made cookies or a Christmas cake.
We take each other in and we have each others pets,
(Although we draw the line at paying for vets!)
But inevitably, when something really goes tits,
We’ll rescue each other, and pick up the bits.
So if you’re struggling this Christmas, for one thing or another,
A child is attacking its sister or brother,
Your partners away in some far way land,
Your parents can’t be there to lend you a hand,
Your family are miles away, doing things of their own,
Just remember, you’re not alone
xx
This poem is dedicated to all military families across the world this Christmas.
May your loved ones get home, your cookers stay in tact, and may Santa deliver all you wished for and not get stuck up the chimney!!
A huge Happy Christmas to you all,
with love from
S xx
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