A Special CHRISTmas Memory - December 3, 2009

Dawn over at Dawn's Cottage Corner has an idea to devote Thursdays in December to writing abut a Christmas memory. This is to be a way of getting to know the readers. I know I don't have many followers, not like some of you, but I do cherish each of you.

Whenever I log on and see a higher number of followers than before I get excited.
This will be my first contribution of this type. If you want to do a memory of your own please let me know. I will gladly follow you to read it.

One of my memories of Christmas is not from when I was a young child but as a young teenager. I was about 14 and my brother about 9.

My mom worked for the county as welfare caseworker. She took her job to heart. She gave it all she had.

One year one of her clients' house burned down. She had 5 or 6 little children. Younger than my brother or I. She had lost everything. Not just her house, which was certainly the worst part, but because this happened just before Christmas all of the kids gifts had burned up also.

My mom came to my brother and I and told us her idea. What would we think if instead of getting gifts ourselves (meaning him and me) we bought gifts for this client and her family. My brother and I did not even hesitate, we agreed to this plan.

The three of us went shopping. My mom knew the ages and sexes of the children. We had a great time doing the shopping. We had dinner out that night, a very rare treat indeed. We helped mom wrap the gifts. Mom called the client and made arrangements with her for us to visit.

The three of us went to where the family was staying. We shocked into silence when we arrived. This home, and it was a home, was just a shell of a place. There weren't any inside walls in place yet. There were curtains up between rooms. We were humbled.

There was such joy in that family who had lost everything. They still had each other and their love was apparent even to us kids. When they saw the gifts that we had brought their love enveloped us.

That CHRISTmas left an impression with me that has lasted all of these years. When I have had a bad year, and may not be feeling very CHRISTmas-like all I have to do is remember that year. My brother and I learned a valuable lesson that year. We learned what the season is really about.