Writing Challenge December 2018
Challenge: What is your favorite holiday story or movie, and why do you love it?
When I was 6, the trip to visit Santa at the big department store was a highlight of the Christmas season. Put on my nice dress, hair tied in a bow, and bundled up for the 25 degree weather, to go have a picture taken with Santa Claus.
Important to tell him what I wanted this year and receive a candy cane. Santa now knew what to put in his sleigh for me on Christmas Eve, with a big smile I walked back to my Mom.
Absolute confidence there would be no mistake as I had spoke loud and clear enough for him to hear my short list of 2 items.
Christmas Eve came, and I was eager for bedtime. In the morning, I could enjoy my coveted new toys.
My Christmas stocking was Dad’s large wool sock; safety pinned to the end of the bed.
Awoke early and looked in the direction of the stocking.
Nothing on the floor. Was it waiting for me, under the tree?
What was peeking out of the top of the sock… oh my gosh… a small turquoise plastic bear with a half inch of fur glued to its head. Cute… but that BEAR was not on My Wish List!
There was a soft cover Christmas book poking out the top of the sock. Reached in and pulled out gifts wrapped in white tissue paper. Horror overwhelmed me as I removed the paper from the smallest doll buggy I had ever seen. Pink, with yellow wheels and handle. The bear was too big to sit in the buggy.
My heart sank.
That was it.
All hopes of having a large fuzzy brown bear to put in a doll buggy and push around the house or on the sidewalk had vanished.
Boy, did Santa get it wrong.
In my 6-year-old mind, it was not funny.
To verbalize my huge disappointment meant a serious scolding.
There will be no errors again of how big something needed to be, neither Santa nor anyone else will make an enormous mistake on size in the future.
A humbling memorable event, every Christmas I remember that little 6-year-old’s devastation.
Today I can smile and appreciate the lesson learned so many years ago.
