By Thea Childs
I sat in the living room
with my brother and sister, playing Candyland. I was eleven years old and
watching my siblings because Mom was in the woods collecting evergreens to make
wreaths. Dad left us and didn’t send money home to feed us, so Mom had to go on
public assistance. Mom said the money was not enough to get us all a Christmas
gift so she was making wreaths to sell and maybe she could scrape up enough to
buy us all boots.
Mom had always just been a
mom to us but since Dad left she had to go back to school so she could get her
GED and get a good job to support us. She said our job was to help out and get
good grades in school so we could go to college.
My brother and sister were
younger than me so I had to help them with their homework and try to get them
to pick up their mess. Sometimes it was easier to just do it myself because
they seemed to always be complaining or fighting. I don’t know why they didn’t
want to help Mom clean our house but sometimes I wished Mom would just smack
them. I watched Lee and Laura complaining that their friends had this or that
new toy even before Christmas and they wanted to live with their friends. I
know this hurt Mom because she was trying real hard to get some extra money to
buy boots for us and she could not afford to buy toys.
After my siblings were in
bed, I would work on my surprise for everyone; I was making a present for each
one of us. I had finished the yarn doll for Laura, she was brown and her dress
was calico and I made a little white apron for her. I was making a horse for
Lee. He always said he was going to be a cowboy and go out west and shoot some
bad guys. The horse was made of pieces of wood I found out back of Smith’s
lumber yard. I asked Mr. Smith if I could take some pieces and he said I could
have all I wanted. It was hard finding a piece for his head. Every day I would
stop by and see if Mr. Smith had thrown away the perfect shape but weeks had
gone by and he still hadn’t. One day I found the perfect piece but it wasn’t in
the pile of junk lumber yet. I wanted to ask Mr. Smith if I could have it but
Mrs. Smith said he wouldn’t be home till late. I couldn’t take it without
asking because Mrs. Smith didn’t know if I could have it or not as it was not
in the usual pile. I went home but all the while I was afraid it would be gone
in the morning. What if Mr. Smith burned it like he sometimes does for heat?
What if it broke?
I could barely sleep! I
got up the next morning and hurried Laura and Lee so I could go to school
early. Mom could see I was in a hurry and told me she’d clean the table then
walk Laura and Lee to school. I ran out the door, forgetting my school books
and I didn’t realize it till I got halfway up the hill. I had to run back to
the house to get them. Later, I had to run back up the hill again and now I
really had to hurry because I’d be late for school if I didn’t.
When I got to the lumber
yard Mr. Smith was not around and the pile and the truck were gone. My heart
sank. It was almost Christmas and I had no head for Lee’s horse and I still had
to complete Mom’s gift. Mrs. Smith said he’d be back shortly. I knew I’d be
late for school and get in trouble but I sat down to wait – this was too important, I had to speak with Mr. Smith.
It was cold out, I ran so
fast in my anticipation that I’d forgotten my mittens. I pulled my arms inside
my coat and let the sleeves dangle in the wind. Little snowflakes were drifting
down from the sky. The winds would blow in circles that I could not see but it
would take the dried leaves up in a little tornado. Around and around they
would swirl as though in a spell dancing circles in the yard. Beautiful
snowflakes fell around me. When they touched my skin they’d melt leaving behind
a refreshing wet feeling. The individual flakes when they fell on my coat were
so gorgeous I was looking to see if I could find two that looked exactly alike.
Pointed and round edged, big and little, all of them seemed different; and each
one more beautiful than the last. Every so often my coat would get too full of
flakes and I couldn’t see the individual ones against the backdrop of the navy
coat so I’d shake it and start my canvas for nature again.
I was so drawn in to the
wonders of earth I had not heard Mr. Smith drive his truck up. He was standing
in front of me calling my name when I came out of my trance. He asked why I was
not in school and I told him about the problem. He started walking away as he
asked me what the piece of wood looked like. He took me to a pile in the back
of the truck and there on the top was my piece. Mr. Smith reached out and
pulled it down, handing it to me. I thanked him and heard Mrs. Smith yell out
for him. Mrs. Smith handed him a bag and he came back to me and told me I’d
better get in the truck. Mrs. Smith said he had better drive me to school. He
handed me the bag that Mrs. Smith had given him, saying “go ahead, open it”.
Inside were penny candies – every kind imaginable!
There must have been three cups full. Mr. Smith said I was to put them in
everyone’s stockings on the night before Christmas. I
started to cry but Mr. Smith quickly asked me what I was doing when he drove
up. I told him of the beauty of the flakes falling from heaven as the winds
swirled around. Next thing I knew we were at the school.
I thanked Mr. Smith again
and he said to wait, I’d probably be in trouble. He got out of the truck and
came to the principal’s office with me. When we got there he said “Good
morning, Hal, I made this young lady late for school this morning so if you
want to give someone a hard time you can chew me out.”
Mr. Campbell said he
understood and as long as I didn’t make a habit of this it was okay this time.
Then he told me to get to class. As I left Mr. Smith winked and I mouthed the
words: thank you.
Putting the candies in my
pocket I went to my classroom. It was hard thinking about class work. I kept
thinking about Lee’s horse and wanting to eat all that candy. I tried hard to
concentrate on work because I remembered Mom’s words. I did my best even though
I was tired.
When I got home Mom said
she needed to go out to sell the rest of the wreaths so I was to watch the
children. I really wanted to finish the book I was writing for Mom, and Lee’s
horse, but my siblings asked me to read to them. As I sat down to read a story
I yawned. I was so tired! Next thing I knew Mom was in the house stomping snow
off her boots. I must have fallen asleep. Too late! I woke up as Mom was coming
in. She would be angry that I had not watched the children well.
When I looked around I
couldn’t believe that the house was not a disaster because I knew what Lee and
Laura were like when they were not watched. Indeed, the house looked clean.
Really clean! Laura and Lee laughed at my surprise. Laura jumped clasping her
hands together. Lee ran to me holding me tight. Next thing I knew all of us
were in a big bear hug Mom, Lee, Laura, and me all happy and kissing each
other. Lee explained that when I fell asleep they cleaned the house as a gift
to Mom and me. Laura said the hardest part was not waking me up. Mom and I
could see how little hands tried to clean off the table and left bits of
crumbs. Lee said Laura made him take out all the scraps for the birds just like
Mom does.
The children were tired
and went to bed early. Mom said she had a surprise. She showed me a new truck
and doll for the children. She said she sold more wreaths than she thought she
would and because I watched the children she was able to make more. She bought
both boots and a toy for Lee and Laura. Also Mom said, “Dad sent us fifty
dollars and said he was sending more in two weeks. I was able to finish my
gifts and Mom and I put Mrs. Smith’s candy in the stockings each eating a piece
as we did it.
The
next day was wonderful and everyone loved their gifts! The church brought a
fruit basket and some clothes over. Mom cried when she read the book I wrote
for her. Months later, she showed it to Mr. Stone my teacher. He said he loved
the stories of dancing snowflakes.
No comments:
Post a Comment