Christmas Memories

This year is pretty tight for us (when hasn't it ever?) but I was reminded today of an almost devastating Christmas in 1953 when I was 13. All I wanted was a dictionary and a pair of hose. My mother had been given a pair of pumps (back then a pair of shoes with tiny heels) that someone had given her and they fit me. So I needed a pair of hose. My grandmother was told about the hose and under the tree was a hose box (hose back then came in slim boxes).

Christmas morning came and there was the dictionary (I still have it), and the hose box . . . with a scarf in it. I sat and cried. You know how many stores (back then) were closed on a Sunday Christmas day? But we finally found a pair. So off to church we went - me splendiferous and very grown up in my hose and pumps.

Here's an idea for an inexpensive but happy gift giving experience. Back in the 70s we all agreed to nothing costing more than three dollars. But for my mother, we did something a little different. We bought many gifts, (I don't remember how many) more than a dozen, costing no more than a dollar. I can't remember all that was gotten except for a small Buddha statue (I don't know why), which she still has and a box of tea in various varieties. My mother sat there on the couch surrounded by many wrapped packages, grinning from ear to ear. I can still remember watching her delight. My mother is now 97 so it's a nice memory to have carried through the years.