My Favorite Christmas...

Has nothing to do with family gatherings with aunts and uncles and cousins or gifts I've received...  It has nothing to do with my brother and I making those funny paper chains or stringing popcorn when we were kids....And it has nothing to do with the smells of roasting turkey or mulled cider wafting throughout the house.

It was 1987.  I was 26 and divorced with two little girls under the age of 3...living in a small 2 bedroom rental house on the main street of Ashland...and had no money for Christmas.

I was working full time...trying to pay the bills and keep up with daycare and diapers.  I knew that the girls would have a bountiful Christmas at their dad's so I certainly didn't try to compete.  But I wanted the girls to know that Santa didn't forget them at their home.

The girls were still in diapers and I had been saving all those "Pamper Points" from the packages.  I called the Pamper people and asked them to send me a catalog...I was going shopping.  The catalog came and I started circling and marking and folding pages trying to narrow down what I wanted to get.  I finally decided on the Little Tykes kitchen and 2 chairs. 

The set came...but something was missing.  The girls needed dishes.  How can you have a kitchen without dishes?  I had 10 bucks to my name.  So I headed out to Toy-R-Us and after mulling through their "Clearance" section, there it was... a set of dishes on sale for $8.95.  But not just any set of dishes...a Little Tykes set of dishes that matched their kitchen.

After the girls went to bed under threat of "Santa's not coming", I unpacked and put together their kitchen, strategically setting out their dishes, making sure the utensils were in the correct places.  I sat there, in one of their chairs, gazing at my accomplishment....crying and proud.  I had provided Christmas for my girls.

Christmas morning was a whirl of excitment.  We had our breakfast at their little attached table on their new dishes...spreading butter on our toast with their new butter knives...sipping tea from their teacups. And, we washed the dishes at their sink.  It was the greatest feeling in the world.

My girls are now 19 and 20...they still remember that Christmas...and I'll never forget it.

Lisa

Comments

[Bombtruck]

Boy, Lisa, that brought back some memories of some thin Christmases with my mom and sister after my parents divorced. They're character-builders to say the least. I can say they are also the biggest motivators for me to make sure my kid knows better days growing up than I did. Thank God her mother and I have been blessed enough to make her Christmases, and really every day, special ones.

Thanks for the story. Merry Christmas.

[HC]

Lisa you sound like a great Mom. Your girls are lucky to have you.

[CABE]

Wonderful story! Merry Christmas Lisa!

[Michael in NC]

Great story!

Listren to this!

http://www.wfae.org/wfae/audio/JB20051222.m3u

[Billy]

I dont have any fond memories of Christmas as a child.My sister[Lisa] would be in the house with all her new presents and hot cocoa,while i would be outside gathering firewood and trying to find some pinecones to eat for my breakfast,while she had homemade cakes and pies for breakfast.

[kate]

thanks for this story. My mother raised 3 alone. I can remember many christmases like this. And they mean so much to me now (at 32). I thought she was super woman. Now I know how super she really was. And so are you. I think I'll call her and tell her again.

Merry Christmas

[Carren]

Lisa... what a great post, and what an amazing mother you are!!! I have to say that as an adult I now appreciate the things my mom did for me and my siblings (there are 4 of us) when my parents divorced. I never knew what it was like to "be without" because my mom busted her butt to make sure she took care of us. I never knew about many of the things she sacrificed until I was much older.

So to you and the other parents out there who sacrifice so much for their children.... know that your children will some day understand and appreciate what you did for them. And they will never forget your sacrifices!

Merry Christmas and God Bless, from a fellow mother.

[daf1]

I'm sure your daughters don't remember that Christmas. Have they read the article? I bet 1988 was a better year. Just a hunch. Merry Christmas.

[Kathianne]

Lisa, you touched my heart. I know what it's like to know that the kids you are disciplining day-to-day, will go to dad's and get a bounty.

But those are from 'him', while you are busting your *** to provide for Santa, **sigh**. Truth is, the kids remember the heartfelt, not the cost. At least I hope so, trust so. Merry Christmas and a Healthly and Wealthy New Year!

[Chris]

The image of the single mom used to bring tears to my eyes as it does many of you, reflexively. Now, there are no tears until I know who divorced who and why. Too many woman toss away marriage because they don't "feel loved" and expect the world to sympathetically embrace them. 80% of divorces are filed by women, and no, the statistic has little to do with abuse and adultry. So you poor single moms, I feel sorry for your kids and the dads at Christmas, not you.

[Lisa]

Chris,

My story was not written to spawn sympathy for me or single moms. It was merely the truth. Nothing more... nothing less.

And for the record... the reason for my divorce is neither yours nor anyone else's business.

Merry Christmas Chris.

[Chris Sears]

Lisa,
The story shows what "us moms" do for our kids. The reason it brings a tear is 'cause most of us have had the same situation in some way. Maybe it wasn't Christmas, maybe it was a birthday, maybe it was something they really wanted to get or somewhere they really wanted to be, or do, which we knew was more important than the thing we had to give up for it to happen. Maybe they knew our sacrifice (if they were older) and maybe they never knew and the best of moms will never feel the need to tell them! "Cause it's that little secret all of us moms have that is so important it need not be always be spoken and what connects all "us moms"! Also, Cause they will know someday with their kids! hopefully! If it all doesn't come real easy for them. Our prayer has to be that it doesn't all come real easy and they can also know this feeling of the choice to sacrifice for something more important than me.

Glad I took this break in baking to check out you guys! Bye, my kitchen is a mess!

Merry Christmas!

P
Are you guys having trouble getting confectioners sugar. The signs say it's cause of the Hurricanes? What's up with that!?
We're sharing in the neighborhood!!