Part One Was Published November 30, Part Two Was Published December 7
The
days slowly crept by—the three weeks from Thanksgiving vacation until the
beginning of Christmas vacation were an eternity. Teachers expected you to do your assignments,
pay attention in class, and even take tests.
The excitement in the air was almost visible-how could anyone keep their
mind on the structure of the atom, the area of a parallelogram, or the
countries in Africa when Christmas was just around the corner.
Talk
during lunch and recess all centered on the coming holiday. Friends laughed and dreamed of the presents
that would be under the tree. Money was
scarce, but imaginations ran wild with ideas for presents for parents and
brothers and sisters. Homemade gifts of
every size and shape were often the fare—pot holders from the loom, carvings of
all sorts, embroidered delights, hand painted birdhouses, doll dresses made
from scraps, the list was endless. A few
lucky kids even had money to spend on small gifts selected with care. The perfect gift was the endless discussion
among her friends.
Emma
kept silent and only listened to the chatter.
It all sounded so exciting and fun, but Emma’s family did not exchange
gifts. Santa came every year, but the
only gifts were those from a few close relatives. Grandparents could be counted upon to send a
small gift—a small check from the grandparents far away and the local
grandparents gave a two dollar bill. A
special great aunt and uncle always mailed a small gift. There were no other gifts wrapped and placed
under the tree.
Santa
though had always been generous.
Wonderful toys like a bicycle, rockets that really shot, games, tea
sets, and once even a doll. Santa
carefully filled their stockings with an orange in the toe and Christmas candy
and nuts filling out the rest. Along the
fireplace were fireworks of every description.
Waiting to be shot over the next week leading up to the New Year. It was always a wondrous day filled with fun
and play. The most wonderful day of the
year.
As
Christmas approached, the annual Christmas parties did too. Names were drawn and gifts were exchanged at
school and at church. A small limit was
placed on the gifts, and Emma spent hours poring over the displays at the local
Five and Dime selecting just the right thing for the names she had drawn. Her Mama provided the money, but asked not a
question about the purchases and left the wrapping all up to Emma. Determined to enjoy the parties, Emma did the
best she could, but Mama did not attend nor even ask a question. It was almost as if she was declaring a halt
to all the joy the season always brought.
Surely the magic of Santa would still appear---he could not have
forgotten Emma and her brothers. He was
magic and the day was magical—even Mama’s sadness could not take that away.
Lists
were being made by all of the children as they laughed and whispered what they
hoped to find on Christmas morn. It
proved to be infectious all the wonder and glee and Emma found herself making her list too. Nothing big—why just some
small things as she poured over the Christmas catalogs that had come in the
mail. Just a few small things were all
she would ask—what she wanted most of all was to revisit the wonder—the magic
of it all.
Emma’s
Mama announced one cold night just before Christmas there would be a change
this year in their Christmas day. Santa
would not be coming, but instead you could select one gift and then go with
Mama to pick it out. No secrets, no
gifts, no stockings that year, but instead a quiet day of rest alone at home for
their family. All of Emma’s hopes were
dashed by this proclamation and her heart sank in a pit of dismay. The final blow of how her world had changed
rang down that day as her mother in quiet determination announced the end of
all Christmas celebrations. No Wonder—No
Magic—No Hope.
