A Christmas Story...The Best Gift Ever...

Every year as the holidays draw near I am reminded of the importance of family...

...not just the importance, but the blessings of having a family. A family of my own, three beautiful boys and an incredible husband (a hottie to boot!)...

Earlier in the day as I was sifting through photographs from Christmas years past, I came across a picture of my brother and me. I was eight, Cal had just turned four and we were sitting in front of the Christmas tree in the apartment that we lived in with our mother just after our parents had divorced. I was all dolled up in a Christmas green sweater, curls in my bob length hair tied back in a Christmas red bow and of course my GINORMOUS round glasses. Cal was dressed in a Christmas red sweater that had his name embroidered on the front, a mischievous grin painted across his face.

You wouldn't know it from the photograph alone, but there is a story unfolding before the twinkle in our eyes...

December 1982, my mother, my brother and I had recently moved into a row of apartments located on East McCarty Drive. A two level apartment, my brother and I shared a bedroom, Barbies on one side, Hot Wheels on the other. Of course, every now and then you would find my Ken doll underneath Cal's bed, tangled in sewing thread as if he were a hostage...one of Cal's many ways of irritating me. My mother was in the kitchen, cooking up a masterpiece for the man she had been dating and obviously fallen for...tonight would be the night that she would introduce my brother and me to this man that made her heart skip.

I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, hairbrush in hand, admiring the bouncy curls my mother had created in my hair. I was eight years old, convinced that I would be the next Shirley Temple...I smiled my best smile at my reflection and practiced my introduction, "It is very lovely to meet you, my name is Betsy, how do you do?" I stuck my hand out at the imaginary man...oh yes, I will definitely melt his heart. My brother came barreling in the bathroom, knocking the door against my body..."CAL!!!! GET OUT! I'M GETTING READY!!" Without hearing a word I've just said, Cal grabbed his toothbrush and began to squeeze the toothpaste, dropping clumps of the thick blue paste down the side of the cabinet. Throwing my hairbrush in a tizzy, I stomped out of the bathroom and stood at the top of the stairs, "Mooooooom, Cal is bothering me!!!" Certain that my mother was ignoring my tattling I decided to simply ignore my brother and finish getting ready.

I wasn't sure what to think about the events that are about to take place. My parents divorced a year earlier, sending my brother and me into a world of unknowns, confusion and fears. My mother and my brother and I had endured so much already, moving, new babysitters, rearranged schedules...and now my brother and I would soon meet a man that our mother had been spending quite a bit of time with. A man we could clearly see made her happy, which made us happy, but at the same time it was all so much for and eight year old and a four year old to take in and understand...

I met my mother in the kitchen, watching her gracefully move about. She hummed Christmas tunes and I remember wanting to be able to sing like my mother when I grew older...like a bird, so beautifully and with confidence. The apartment was filled with smells of chocolate meringue pie and cinnamon candles that burned throughout our tiny home. The Christmas tree was decorated with homemade ornaments from elementary Christmas parties, hand me down ornaments from my grandmother and twinkling white lights. A Christmas record crackled on the record player, holiday tunes sung by John Denver, Anne Murray and Olivia Newton-John. I sat down on the sofa, careful not to disturb the decorative pillows and whispered my introduction over and over until I felt it was perfected.

The doorbell rang. Butterflies began to flitter within my tummy, the little hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stood on end, excitement bubbling up into my throat...."He's here!!!" My mother floated into the front room, smoothing out her apron. She placed my small hand within hers and called up the stairs for my brother to come down. Cal came sliding down the stairs on his bottom and like a monkey he jumped in front of my mother and me and flung the front door open.

There stood my mother's prince...six feet four inches. He looked like a body builder, strong and lean. My mother beamed as she invited him in. "Betsy, Cal, this is Erwin." ...I extended my arm and reached for his hand, "Hello, my name is Betsy, it is very nice to meet you." Erwin smiled a warm smile and held my hand, "Hello Betsy, it is very nice to meet you too!" Cal hovered beside my mother's leg, his arms wrapped around her thigh..."And this is Cal" my mother said as she rustled his white blond hair. "Hello Cal, I'm Erwin." Cal scurried off towards the couch, jumping onto the cushions, sending the decorative pillows onto the floor...a show was about to unfold as he began to show off for this newly introduced individual!

Erwin held two wrapped gifts in his arms, "What are those?" my brother asked, "CAL!" I exclaimed, "that's so rude!" I flipped my hair, my best Pollyanna smile...Erwin sat down on the couch next to Cal and I walked over to stand beside. "These are gifts for you and your sister," Erwin handed a gift to Cal and the other to me. Without hesitation Cal ripped through the red wrappings to reveal a Dr. Sues book, "Horton Hears A Who"...tossing the book aside, Cal jumped from the couch and ran into the kitchen, wresting with a Doritos bag for a snack. I rolled my eyes, and carefully began to unwrap my gift. It was heavy and thick...the possibilities of what it might be were endless within my head...peeling back the scotch tape I slid my finger underneath the shimmering paper to reveal a children's dictionary...it must have weighed 25 pounds. "Oh thank you!" I beamed! (remember, I'm on my very best behavior here...naturally in my head I'm screaming, "WHAT?!!! A DICTIONARY??! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!?)  :)

My mother called my brother back into the front room, positioning us both in front of the Christmas tree, she placed our gifts within our hands and snapped several photographs...a memory captured forever.

Conversation began and I listened to my mother laugh and swoon over Erwin's stories. Remembering my mother's suggestions of politeness, I entered the kitchen to grab a plate of cookies to offer to Erwin. I reached up to the counter top to take the plate of goodies and saw an envelope. Curious, I grabbed the envelope and read the scribble on the front, "Cinderella"...it was for my mother from Erwin..."he loves her," I whispered to myself, thinking that one day I would have my own "Prince Charming."

....December 1982...the night that Cal and I would meet the man we would call father for years to come. A man that rescued my mother, and really my brother and me. A man that would love us as his own. He would teach us right from wrong, he would instill Faith within our hearts, he would encourage us to be the best, and he would become the biggest part of our lives, one memory at a time.

The ultimate Christmas gift...no, it wasn't "Horton Hears A Who" or a 25 pound children's dictionary...it was the gift of love, understanding, patience and protection. It was the gift of a father.

Obviously this isn't the photograph I refer to in the story,

my scanner isn't working, so I chose one that I already

had on file! It's the same year!