Christmas with the Coghlans

Some of you FishStripers may be breathing a sigh of relief that Christmas is over and life can now return to its regularly scheduled normalcy. But if you're like me, and aren't quite ready to let go of the holiday warm fuzzies, you can take a walk down memory lane with Chris Coghlan as he reminisces about what Christmas was like for him as a kid.

Coghlan, fresh off being named the National League Rookie of the Year, spent some time recently with MLB.com reflecting on what the Christmas holiday means to him.

The first thing that comes to mind for the Marlins' 24-year-old left fielder is the curtain that draped his living room on Christmas morning.

A rule was set at his house. Before any of the four children could see what was left under their tree, they had to wait upstairs as the living room was being prepared. A large curtain blocked their view. In the meantime, Coghlan's father, Timothy, had his video camera ready. Eventually, a signal would be given, and the four children would rush downstairs.

My dad also enjoyed torturing us keeping us in suspense over our gifts as long as possible on Christmas morning, usually insisting upon reading the Christmas story out of all four gospels before we could open presents. Thankfully, he never thought of a curtain. Seems Chris's Dad could have given him a few pointers.