“A Christmas Memory” demonstrates that growing up involves more than just getting older; it also includes gaining understanding about the world. Buddy encounters two opposing worldviews in the narrative, and his ability to reconcile these views results in greater wisdom. His friend's childlike demeanor highlights her refusal to abandon her childhood and assume adult responsibilities. The narrator observes, “She is still a child.” Although seven-year-old Buddy admires this quality, it is the reason she is shunned by the rest of the family, who treat her as lesser. Her inability or reluctance to recognize socially acceptable behavior is evident when she permits Buddy to get drunk on leftover whiskey. She seems to understand that society may have valid reasons for forbidding children from consuming alcohol. The story, recounted in flashback, captures the bittersweet nature of growing up. When separated from his best friend and sent to military school, Buddy remarks, “Home is where my friend is, and there I never go.” He recognizes the symbolic innocence of his youth when he “expects to see, rather like hearts, a lost pair of kites hurrying toward heaven.”