Life In The Middle Today    By Colleen Pulley

The Belated Christmas Gift

Last month my article was on Gratitude and Thanksgiving. I hope it gave you something to ponder as the holiday season officially began. This month I thought I’d tell a story based upon an article I shared in a magazine about twenty years ago

When my Mother died at the age of 52, my youngest brother was sixteen. He was seven years younger than me. They were living in Oregon. I was a young Mother with a two year old and husband, living on the East coast of the United States.

My Mother was one of those people who began preparing for Christmas as soon as the Holidays were over. This was done in a large part because money needed to go as far as possible, and she had learned that the after Christmas sales gave her more for the hard earned dollars that came into the family.

She would buy her gift wrap after the holidays at a 70% mark down, and store up on Christmas candles, and cards. She would buy sweaters and scarves and gloves when the Winter sales started in January, and journals, and books at the Spring sales. Then she would lovingly wrap them, and hide them away in the attic, the closets, or under the bed, until the next Christmas. She always included a personal note, telling the person how much they meant to her, and how proud she was of them. As time went on, the notes were remembered well after the sweater, or scarf.

The last Christmas she was alive ended, and after the holidays she began her expedition to the sales racks. The gifts that year were being stored in her bedroom closet. She hadn’t started writing her personal notes, but they had been wrapped.

March 27^th she was in an auto accident and died within three days. We all mourned her loss. My brother, who had been especially close to her, was hit hard by the empty spot in his life. The year passed from Spring into Summer. Fall came and went, and Winter arrived, and the family seemed to not want to start hanging the lights, or trim the tree.

Finally, a few days before Christmas, my older sister stopped by to see my Father and Brother. She looked at the bare spot where the tree always stood, and took action.

“Mom is probably horrified to think you guys haven’t put up a tree, and hung the lights. Leslie, help me get the decorations down from the attic. Dad, Mr. Hershey is selling trees. Go to Safeway, and pick out a good one.”

With that said, she sent Dad out, and took my brother up to the attic to get the decorations.

They were getting the last box down, when they discovered behind the decoration box a single gift, beautifully wrapped, and waiting for its personal note to be added..

By the time Dad returned, the gift was sitting on the table. After the tree was trimmed, the gift was placed under the tree. Then calls went out to me in Philadelphia, and my brother in California. On Christmas Eve all of us were there, my brothers and sisters, sitting with Dad around the tree, and me on the telephone.

The eggnog was passed around and the gifts were given out. There were the usual oohs and aahs of admiration. Then the moment we had all been waiting for finally arrived.

The speculation was that the single gift recently discovered must have been one of Mom’s past Stocking stuffer’s meant for Leslie. There had been many times that Mom would loose track of where she’d hidden a gift, and she would have to run out and replace it at the last minute.

Leslie opened the package, and to our surprise, a note fell to the floor. Mom rarely placed her notes in the package, but there it was, tucked in with a Life Saver Candies Book, and a big Hershey’s chocolate bar. Leslie passed out life saver rolls to each person around the tree, I received mine in the mail later. He tore the wrapper off the Hershey’s bar, and the old chocolate crumbled as it was broken and passed around the room. Then, as the tears fell, he read the note, and said,“ this is for all of us, I think.” and he read the note out loud.

“May you have the joy of Christmas in your heart throughout this year. May you feel the Savior with you, and may you know that I will always love you and be with you. Love, Mom.”

A simple note, sending the true meaning of Christmas to a family who was missing their Mother. A reminder that we are all loved.

This year may you find the true meaning of Christmas, and share it with your family and loved ones. Until next year...Merry Christmas to all... Colleen

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Copyright  2007     Leland Pulley