I'll be glad when its December 26. I can't seem to shake this blah feeling, no matter how often I watch Its a Wonderful Life. Sigh.However, there is one Christmas that was the best-est ever and I don't think I got one thing. It was the first Christmas after I had been working for a year. It had been welfare prior to then. I had four kids ranging in age from about 4 to 9 or 10 yrs old. (Their father was gone and dare I say that was a real blessing too.) It was just us.
Just before Christmas I joined a credit union and applied for a $500 loan. And surprise, I got it. This was in the late 60s so $500 was a lot more then than it is now. And I spent every cent of it on the kids. Ohmygawd, can you say 'presents dripping out of her ass'... that would be me. I had so much fun getting the kids every possible thing I could. This was before electronic games so prices were cheap. Dolls, Easy-bake Ovens, play luggage, tea sets, trucks, tricycles, etc.
Christmas eve, after the kids finally went to sleep, I wrapped and I wrapped. Then I wrapped some more. I wrapped so much I finally said to hell with it and just put the rest of the gifts under the tree naked.
You should have seen the kids' faces when they walk into the room. They were overwhelmed and I just sat there with the biggest 'shit-eating' grin you ever saw. Man, that was such a charge to be able to do that. There were so many presents it was obscene. (And just to put it in perspective, previous holidays were Toy-&-Joy kinds. A teddy bear and a naked Barbi kind of gifts, not that I wasn't grateful.)
That was my best Christmas EVER!! It can still bring a grin to my face and a smile to my heart. (We won't mention the worse.) Is there one Christmas that comes to mind for you? Please share if you feel up to it.
8 comments:
This story is amazing. I know what it's like to not have enough-or even anything- with which to give. You warm my heart with this story. Your story makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Thanks for sharing.
I LOVED this post! I had a big grin reading it and could feel the emotion you must have felt getting all ready for it and finally giving up and just putting some of the presents unwrapped under the tree.
My best Christmas...I need to think about it, ...I know they use to be good, but it's hard to remember...ha..
But my best memories are ones that involves the kids when they were little, or seeing my grandkids now, the ones who get what christmas is about ....stuff....ha.
Well, that was fun. I would have to say the first Christmas with each of our children, and then when they were small. It is kinda sad, but there is no memory of a particular one. Wish there was.
What a great story, CC! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! We've had a lot of fun Christmases...especially when the kids were small and we would go and spend the night with Sandy so Erin could have the excitement of being with her cousins on Christmas morning.
There is one that is special to me and that involves the first time my mother was the focus of Christmas. Sandy and Bill and I were older and mom wanted a dishwasher and a nice big butcher block and we were able to help get her those things. Moms and dads take a back seat at Christmas usually, but this particular one, mom was like a kid getting what she wished for, and her excitement made it so much fun that year.
Christmases just aren't the same when your kids grow up. I could quite happily let it slide by as just another day. Your best Christmas sounds wonderful and what a lovely memory :))
Wow that sure sounded like one of the best christmas any mother could give to their childern...sounds wonderful!
Um...the way I am feeling right now is also bah hum bah, I got a sore throat blah...but before I get too much more sicker yes I be glad to share the most memorable christmas I remember having...When I was first living out in Virgina stuck in a ice storm all by myself, no one could reach me, nor could I leave the mountain cause my car was stuck on top of a rock when I try to drive out of the icy driveway...ha ha ha...that was two days before chirstmas eve when that had happen...all I know was that I wanted a tree knowing I was going to be alone (so I had thought) that I might as well make the best of it, and all around me were trees of every kind including big pine trees...being this was my very first ice storm ever I was determed to get a tree no matter what, so on christmas eve I grab an ax...me with an ax...ha ha ha now that was funny cause I remember it being heavy, I did a lot of slipping and sliding through the forest looking for that one special tree, I finally found it by the time I reached that little tree my fingers were frozen, my nose was numb and I found I couldn't chop down that little tree cause I couldn't feel the ax in my hands...so I made it back to my log house with nothing more than just a limb in my hand and lost that ax somewhere in the woods on the way back...and to my surprise when I finally went into my home there sitting there in the living room waiting for me was a full size christmas tree with my new neighbors welcoming me to a christmas cheer... I remember to me that was the best christmas ever cause I finally got a tee afterall and I didn't spend it alone.
wow Rosy, that sounds like it qualifies as a true Christmas Miracle!! Thanks so much for sharing it. Its a beautiful story.
CC - your story is so wonderful! I'm sure your kids would agree with you that it was one fine Christmas!!!!!
As I look back over the years, my husband and I went all out for our kids. He loved Christmas so much and always made it extra special for the kids. He would hold back something special for each of them on Christmas morning......and they loved the surprise that they eventually found. Christmas is surely for children....and now that I have grandchildren it is extra special......reliving all of those wonderful memories from them and making new ones too.
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