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It was
December in the Ozarks and a skiff of snow was on the
ground. I was busily baking cookies and sprinkling
some Christmas colored sprinkles on top of them when I
heard the sound of the school bus pulling away on the
gravel road in front of the house. My nine-year-old
daughter, Julie, came bounding through the front door
and as usual, she was hungry. There??™s something about
being in school all day that works up a good
appetite. I handed her a couple of cookies and poured
her a glass of milk. Her preschool sister and brother
joined her for a snack and as we sat around the table,
Julie eyed her Christmas cookie, examining each side
of it, and then she said, matter-of-factly, ???Diana
isn??™t having Christmas.???
???Who is Diana???? I asked.
???She rides the school bus
and sits by me sometimes and when I asked her what she
wanted for Christmas she said she wasn??™t having any
Christmas.??? Julie repeated once more.
She continued, ???Diana has
pretty red hair but I think she forgets to brush her
hair and the other kids don??™t sit by her. I think
it??™s because she??™s different.???
I questioned my daughter
about Diana and her family and where she lived but
Julie didn??™t know very much. She only knew there were
other children in the family and that they got off the
bus along the road where there wasn??™t a house.
All evening I was plagued
by thoughts of a little red headed girl who ???forgets
to brush her hair and wasn??™t having Christmas??? as
Julie had described her.
The next morning after
Julie had left for school, Diana was still on my
mind. We had only lived in the area for a short time
but I knew that the principal knew everyone in the
community so I picked up the phone and called the
grade school principal. I asked him if he knew of a
little red headed girl named Diana who rode Julie??™s
bus. ???Yes, she??™s one of the Martin kids, lives off
the main road a little ways. Why, is there a
problem???? he asked.
I explained to him what
Julie had said and I asked him if he thought they
might be a family that needed some help this
Christmas. The principal told me that the Martin
family probably did need assistance and he seemed glad
that someone had thought of it. I told him that our
family would personally do something and that I would
also give their name to the Christian mission in town
that always helped others at Christmas time.
That day I found a big
box and later that night we all discussed what should
go into the box for the Martin family. It was just a
few days until Christmas and we began working to wrap
gifts and fill the box. Jeanna chose some toys and
games that were age appropriate along with a cuddly
stuffed teddy bear for one of the younger children.
Even Jeremy, who was just a toddler, watched what was
going on and then ran to his own little box of toys
and began throwing some of them into the box. I began
cooking and baking what I could in advance to go in a
separate box of food items that would make up a
traditional Christmas dinner. I asked Julie if she
would like to add something special to the box that
would be for Diana.
???Can we get her a pretty
hat with gloves to match? Julie asked. ???We could get
green like Diana??™s eyes!???
???Green it is!??? I
announced as we made our purchases and finished up the
box.
The next day was
Christmas Eve and after work my husband, Mike, loaded
the boxes into our van. We had gotten directions from
the principal and we were all putting our coats on to
leave when Julie said, ???Mommy, I don??™t want to go.???
???Well, why not???? I
asked. ???Don??™t you want to take the gifts to Diana????
???Maybe Diana might hide
her face.??? Julie said with a worried look.
I knew what Julie was
feeling. She was concerned that because Diana knew
her that she might somehow be shy or uncomfortable
knowing that Julie had ???told??? about there not being
any Christmas for Diana.
Although I didn??™t think
there would be a problem, I told Julie she didn??™t have
to go along.
We drove up an old dirt
road and found a little house in a clearing in the
woods. Mike got out and went to the door while I
stayed in the van with the baby. A couple of very
friendly dogs met him as he got out and then a man
came to the door. As Mr. Martin stood at the door a
small child peeked around the door jam and waved at
me. Mike talked a moment and then handed him the
packages. When he turned to leave, Mr. Martin said
something else and then shook Mike??™s hand.
We enjoyed Christmas a
little more than usual that year and learned that it
is truly more blessed to give than to receive.
When school started again
after Christmas break, I heard that familiar sound of
the bus outside once more as Julie came bursting
through the door with a huge smile on her face. She
stopped right in front of me and said, ???Mommy, Diana
knows!???
???Knows what???? I asked.
???She knows I told.???
Julie replied.
???Mommy, Diana was wearing
the green hat and gloves today. When I got on the bus
she hugged me and then she said,
???Julie, we did have
Christmas!???
By
Pamela R. Blaine.
December 2004
About Pamela: My husband
and I live in Missouri. We have 4 children
and 5 grandchildren. I enjoy writing, music, and
country living. I write "Pam's Corner" for the local
newspaper and many stories have been published on the
internet as well as in several books.
I have loved music and writing ever since I can
remember. I play piano at church and I'm an avid
reader. One of my goals is to be able to write for my
children and grandchildren so special memories will
not be forgotten. We have recently made a new CD
entitled "I'll Walk You Home". If you would like one,
they are available by freewill donation. More
information as well as a clip from the CD is on the
website at:
http://blaines.us/PamyPlace.htm
Send an email and let me know what you thought of
my writing: pamyblaine@blaines.us
"NO ONE IS USELESS IN THIS WORLD
WHO LIGHTENS THE BURDEN OF ANYONE ELSE"
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