SANTA CLAUS & MY GRANDMA I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her after my sister dropped the bomb: There is no Santa Claus, she jeered. Even dummies know that! No!..... It couldnt be.. No Santa Claus?... No!..... I was crushed. My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier even if it was bad when swallowed with one of her World-Famous cinnamon buns. I knew they were World-Famous, because Grandma said so!..... So it had to be true! Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm out of the oven. Between bites, I told her everything my sister had said. She was ready for me. No Santa Claus? she snorted.... Ridiculous! Dont you believe such a foolish thing! That rumor has been going around for so many years and it makes me mad, plain mad! Now put on your coat and lets go. Go?..... Go where Grandma? I asked. I hadnt even finished my second World-Famous cinnamon bun. Where turned out to be Kerbys General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me a $10 bill. That was a bundle in the 1950s. Take this money, she said, and you buy something for someone who really needs it. Ill wait for you in the car. Then she turned and walked out of Kerbys store leaving me standing there alone. I was only seven years old. Id often gone shopping with my mom, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed so big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that $10 bill, wondering what to buy,and who on earth to buy it for. I thought of everybody I knew, my family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, the people went to my church. I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. Bobby was a kid with bad breath, old clothes and messy hair and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollocks grade-two class. Bobby Decker didnt have a good coat. I knew that because he never went out to recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough and shouldnt go outside, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didnt have a cold, he didnt have a warm coat. I fingered the $10 bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a good coat! I settled on a heavy red corduroy one that had a hood on it. It looked real warm, and knew he would like that. Is this a Christmas present for someone? the lady behind the counter asked kindly as I laid my $10bill down on the counter. Yes, maam, I replied shyly. Its for Bobby at my school.... Is this enough? The nice lady smiled at me and she looked at the $10 bill, as I told her about how Bobby really needed a good warm winter coat because he didnt have one and stayed inside during recess and Grandma gave me the $10 to buy someone that really needed something what they needed. $10. Yes, thats exactly what it costs, $10 I didnt get any change as she put the coat in a bag, smiled again and wished me a Merry Christmas. That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat in Christmas paper and ribbons and wrote, To Bobby, From Santa Claus on it as she pulled the little tag off the coat and tucked it in her Bible. Grandma said that Santa always insisted on complete secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Deckers house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially be one of Santas helpers. Grandma parked down the street from Bobbys house and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. All right Santa Claus Helper, she whispered, Get going. I took a deep breath and dashed for his front door, put the present down on his porch, pounded his door and flew back to the safety and darkness of the bushes and Grandma. Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby. Almost 60 years havent dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering beside my Grandma in Bobby Deckers bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were.... Ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team. I still have Grandmas Bible with the tag from the coat tucked inside as a bookmark and a reminder..... The coat was $18.00, and the cashier was a Santas Helper too.. May you always have LOVE to share, HEALTH to spare and FRIENDS that care... And may you always believe in the magic of Christmas and Santa Claus. I still do!.... Merry Christmas! Because that magic is LOVE.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 21:02:34 +0000
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