My grammie was my soulmate after my mama died when I was age 12. Grammie taught me how to be a great cook, how to clean the huge house my dad and my siblings lived in, and most of all she taught me to be a good woman and how I could become a great wife and mother. Grammie was an Irish girl whose family was from Kentucky. She married a man whose family was originally from Scotland but when the family arrived in this country their roots were established in West Virginia. At this time of year I think about the time she taught me there was a Santa. The following is an excerpt from the book Im currently writing about growing up in a small town and this excerpt is copyright material. It tells how my Grammie helped me believe that Santa really did exist. I hope this isnt too long for this page. **************************** I sure hate the thought of Christmas coming before too terribly long. I was thinking about Christmas time from years past this morning in my down time. Then those thoughts went into recalling back to another time in history. That specific time was the day I was told there was no Santa Claus the day before Christmas. Oh how that scared me and hurt me. The big bully Robert told me to grow up and get serious, there is no Santa Claus. At the time I believe I was in the second grade and this grade school thug Robert was a real bully. He was a big kid and I was afraid of him and I think he had failed a couple of times, so he was older. He apparently wasnt too smart, but he apparently knew more than I did, as he said there was no Santa. I couldnt wait until I got home to ask my mama. I ran home immediately after school instead of staying around the school yard to play. We lived across the street from the school yard, so my mama knew I sometimes stayed to play. When I asked my mama, she said of course there was a Santa Claus and I shouldnt think there wasnt. But that answer just wasnt enough for me. When my dad said he was going to Grammies to help with the cattle, I knew I had to go ask Grammie about Santa. Grammie knew everything because she was old and she never lied and always told the truth. My mama must have called Grammie and told her that I was coming to ask my very important question, as Grammie was waiting at the door and told me she had gotten some of her sugar cookies from the big aluminum dutch oven she kept in the freezer, and always full of cookies. I sat down at the table with my cookies, but I didnt want cookies, I wanted to know the truth! Tearfully I asked Is there a Santa Claus or not? Grammie saw my tears, and knew I needed to an answer which would satisfy me. So she proceeded to tell me how I could determine if there was a Santa. She asked me if I knew anyone at school who really needed something to wear or play with? I told her yes there was. There was a boy who came to school without a coat and he didnt have mittens or a hat even when it was really cold. She told me that maybe Santa hadnt visited this boy’s house last year so he didnt get any mittens or hat. She said that sometimes Santa doesnt mean to miss kids on his route, but as much as he tries, he does miss some kids. That broke my heart to know that. Grammie said she could help me make sure that I helped Santa on his route this year if I wanted. I asked how could she do that. She said she would give me $5.00 to go buy something for anyone in my class who I thought might not be able to afford something nice this year. She went on to tell me that she would help me wrap it and put a note on it that it was from Santa and then my dad could take me by their house so I could drop the present off and tell them I was Santa s helper this year. I might have to fib a bit and say that Santa had made sure one of his elves came to my house and gave me a gift to leave for the little kid. I said that was ok because God would know that I was trying to help. I was excited and made my dad take me to Cynthia’s Department Store so I could buy something for Eddy. While I was picking out my purchases, I had my dad hold my $5.00 bill which my Grammie had given me. I picked out a pair of mittens, a hat, a scarf, a coat and a red truck and took them to the counter. My dad was standing there with his wallet out to give them my $5.00. Cynthia the owner totaled it up and gave the bill to my dad which he promptly paid from the $5.00 I had given him to hold. Back to Grammies we went, and she carefully took off the tags and helped me wrap the gifts. We wrote out a note on the card which said from Santa Claus - do not open until December 25. On the way back to town, my dad took a road which was where this less fortunate boy lived with his mother and no siblings. I got out with the huge gift package and knocked on the door. He answered it and wow did his eyes light up and he invited me into the room. I could see they didnt have much and didnt even see a Christmas tree. I proudly told him my little fib that I was one of Santas helpers this year and that he had made sure a present was left at my house for him, so here I was delivering it. I made sure to tell him to not open it until the next day on Christmas. Christmas came and went and Santa must have been real because I got presents from him. Lots of presents. Right then I knew there really was a Santa Claus. Then came the first day of school when the boy I bought presents for came to school with his new Santa gifts. He proudly displayed his Santa gifts and made sure to tell everyone, including the bully Robert that there is a real Santa, as he had made sure gifts were left for him. That really helped me know there really was a Santa because someone else thought there was a Santa too. Grammie and my dad knew how important Santa was to me at that age. I know now that the $5.00 bill wasnt enough for my purchases, but my dad felt it was important to let me get what I needed and he would make up the difference. That lesson in life was one I never forgot. And I believed in Santa for many more years. When it came time to teach my children, I used a similar approach. Through the years I’ve bought many presents for underprivileged children and do it with love. I buy the presents and put the some thing on the tags. Sometimes I have had to buy for several kids in the same family but thats alright. Grammie came through for me again. She taught me that if you believe there is a Santa, there will be a Santa in your life. Yes friends, there is a Santa Claus! Grammie said there was!
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 12:44:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015