I would like to share a story, if I may? It's not Frost, by any means, but as I just discovered, it did garner an honorable mention for short stories here. Cool, huh? Merry Christmas to me! (Maybe I'll be a "winner" next year?!)
Toothless Grin
I was doing some last-minute Christmas shopping in a toy store and decided to look at Barbie dolls for my nieces.
A nicely-dressed little girl was excitedly looking through the Barbie dolls as well, with a roll of money clamped tightly in her little hand. When she came upon a Barbie she liked, she would turn and ask her father if she had enough money to buy it. He usually said "yes," but she would keep looking and keep going through their ritual of "do I have enough?"
As she was looking, a little boy wandered in across the aisle and started sorting through the Pokemon toys. He was dressed neatly, but in clothes that were obviously rather worn, and wearing a jacket that was probably a couple of sizes too small. He, too, had money in his hand, but it looked to be no more than five dollars or so, at the most.
He was with his father as well, and kept picking up the Pokemon video toys. Each time he picked one up and looked at his father, his father shook his head, "no."
The little girl had apparently chosen her Barbie, a beautifully-dressed, glamorous doll that would have been the envy of every little girl on the block. However, she had stopped and was watching the interchange between the little boy and his father.
Rather dejectedly, the boy had given up on the video games and had chosen what looked like a book of stickers instead. He and his father then started walking through another aisle of the store.
The little girl put her Barbie back on the shelf, and ran over to the Pokemon games. She excitedly picked up one that was lying on top of the other toys, and raced toward the check-out, after speaking with her father. I picked up my purchases and got in line behind them. Then, much to the little girl's obvious delight, the little boy and his father got in line behind me.
After the toy was paid for and bagged, the little girl handed it back to the cashier and whispered something in her ear. The cashier smiled and put the package under the counter.
I paid for my purchases and was rearranging things in my purse when the little boy came up to the cashier. The cashier rang up his purchases and then said, "Congratulations, you are my hundredth customer today, and you win a prize!"
With that, she handed the little boy the Pokemon game, and he could only stare in disbelief. It was, he said, exactly what he had wanted!
The little girl and her father had been standing at the doorway during all of this, and I saw the biggest, prettiest, toothless grin on that little girl that I have ever seen in my life. Then they walked out the door, and I followed, close behind them.
As I walked back to my car, in amazement over what I had just witnessed, I heard the father ask his daughter why she had done that. I'll never forget what she said to him.
"Daddy, didn't Nana and PawPaw want me to buy something that would make me happy?"
He said, "Of course they did, honey."
To which the little girl replied, "Well, I just did!"
With that, she giggled and started skipping toward their car.
Apparently, she had decided on the answer to her own question of, "do I have enough?"
I feel very privileged to have witnessed the true spirit of Christmas in that toy store, in the form of a little girl who understands more about the reason for the season than most adults I know!
May God bless her and her parents, just as she blessed that little boy, and me, that day!
by Sharon Palmer, Tennessee (Yup -- that's me! *G*)
I hope you all enjoyed reading it. It was an amazing act to witness; I know that. Even if this story had never been published, I know I could never forget it! (It has been published in several books, as well as being recounted in newspaper articles, and it's all over the web. It was probably the defining moment in my writing career! I have been hoping that this little girl, or her father, would stumble upon the story and get in touch with me. That would be the icing on the cake!)
God's blessings upon you all, and
God Jul,
Sharon
i'm pretty well speechless (and that does not often happen).
btw, love your dogs... i have two rotties that see me off every morning
and greet me every afternoon. unconditional love. both ways.
Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Thanks you so much for your flag to the posting! May I pass it around?
It would be excellent if the girl came across it. :-)
And thanks for including me in the post of your sweet card. Piper and Wilson strike quite a ferocious pose. *LOL* Tell me, do they like watching Brit Hume??
Blessings to you, too, Sharon!
Thank you so much!!