The Angels Among Us

You know people say that there are angels walking among us and I finally have proof that they really are.  What I am about to tell you still makes me a little misty eyed thinking about it so if you are a sensitive soul get out your tissues. 

 

My parents have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt they are extraordinary, kind, selfless, beautiful people that I am so honored to know.  This year my parents decided that they were going to donate part of my dad’s bonus check to the food bank or pick a kid off of the angel tree to help out for Christmas.  After some serious discussion they came up with a better plan for the money.  They called me on my cell phone and asked me if my friend I hang out with all the time (she is really cute like a little doll, that is what I will call her Dolly) had received any presents or money from her ex in the mail for her daughter.  Her daughter is Tooter’s best friend and they are only a week a part with the exact same tastes in life.  They even have deadbeat dad’s that do not take their responsibilities serious.  I told my mom I was almost to her house I would just stop in. 

 

I got to her house and she pulled me into her bedroom and asked me again if Tooter’s Best Friend (TBF) had presents under the tree and if her dad had sent her anything.  I told her that he did not send anything and with money being really tight Dolly had presents under the tree but not a lot.  That sealed it we got Dolly on the phone and asked her what TBF needs or wants for Christmas.  She did not know what to say on the spot like that so we told her that we would give her a few minutes while my parents got ready to go to the store and they would call her back. 

 

The whole time my mom was telling me what her plan was I kept thinking in the back of my mind, “Do not cry, do not cry!!!”  I did not want to be tear stained in front of Tooters and have to try and come up with an excuse.  So we tossed around a few ideas and came up with getting her some snow boots since she is wearing tennis shoes in the ten tons of snow we have received and a snow shovel like Tooter’s since she has such a blast with it.  We called Dolly back and let her know they were off to the store and if she thought of anything else no matter what it is to call them back on the cell.  I stayed behind with Tooter’s and my brother who had come into town for a couple of days. 

 

After a little while my mom calls me from the store to ask if TBF has a bike.  I told her that she does but it is to small for her.  Well that settled it TBF was getting a brand new big girl bike for Christmas that will last her for the next couple of years at least.  My mom told me to get Tooters to another part of the house when they pulled up so that they could go out and cover the bike up with a blanket until they could get it over to Dolly’s house.  We decided that after Santa left the house that night (I had it arranged for him to come to the house and even bought some cheap dolls with a couple of outfits for the girls to open up with him.) and the girls are playing with the new toys Dolly and my dad would sneak out of the house and stash the bike and other stuff at her house for the next morning.  Bless my beautiful parents they even bought a gift certificate to Kohl’s for Dolly so she would have something from Santa to.

 

Well while my mom and I were taking a look at the presents and talking about them I noticed that the snow boots looked funny.  I picked them up and they were super light with no tread on the bottom.  Then I noticed the size it was 13-1, shoes are not sized that way just slippers.  I pointed this out to my mom so we left Tooter’s with my dad and brother so we could go look for real snow boots.  We checked three stores before going back to the store she originally got them at, they were told that was all they had.  Something told us that we needed to check again.  We hit the shoe isle and there on a low shelf in a box that had not even been opened was a pair of purple and black very cute snow boots in TBF’s size.  OMG they were meant to be hers so we scooped them up and exchanged the slippers for the boots. 

 

We talked to Dolly and TBF the next day, they said it was a wonderful Christmas.  TBF could not wait to show Tooter’s her presents from Santa and invited her to come and play the next day.  Dolly got a little sniffly on phone when I asked her if she got the little bag with the gift certificate in it.  She still cannot believe what my parents did for her.  I told her just enjoy it and buy something nice for herself with the gift card or save it and we could go shopping together.  I can still hear the gratitude in her voice and it makes me feeling wonderful knowing someone in my family did that for her.

 

This whole thing made my heart swell up with pride for having the parents that I do.  This whole act of kindness still makes me misty sitting her writing about it.  I just hope and pray that someday when I am more financially sound so that I can have an amazing opportunity to pay it forward.  Someday many many years from now I will sit down and tell Tooter’s the story of a Christmas made perfect just by giving and hope she will continue to have the generous nature she has now and help out some else out like her grandparents. 

 

I hope every one had an incredible Christmas like I did!!  Happy New Years everyone and remember to be safe.

My Sweet, Sweet Little Stinker

Christmas is a time of family, giving and thinking of someone other than ourselves.  Well ever since my divorce holidays are kind of rough for me.  Even though I have my beautiful daughter and my wonderful parents that live here in town, I still feel like the holidays are a little reminder that my little family was torn apart.  Not only is it that Tooters and I were left to face the world ourselves I feel bad that I am not able to give her the presents I wish I could give her.  Instead I settle for making a huge deal of Christmas and being with family.  I am also passing on a saying to her that my mother taught me as a kid, “It is better to give than to receive.”  The other one that we have been working on is, “It is not the size and expense of the gift it is the thought that counts.”

 

We have been working on understanding the meaning of these little pearls of wisdom for a while now and OMG I think she finally got it the other day.  What she did made me actually sit down and cry underneath our little Christmas tree. 

 

A couple weekends ago my boyfriend came into town and helped us put up all the lights outside plus the tree inside.  Well since then my little tree has been bare with no presents.  I only was able to buy a few things for Tooters this year and I was saving them for Santa to bring to her.  I finally could not stand it anymore and went to the store to pick up a few things that I could wrap for her.  They are nothing-expensive just little things like coloring books (she can color for hours at a time) and a blow dryer for the both of us since she is getting into that and mine is on its last legs/cord.   So I waited for her to go to bed and sat at my table wrapping presents so I could surprise her in the morning.  Let me tell you it could have been Christmas already. 

 

We sat down and I let her read all of the tags to me.  With each one that she read that was for her she got more excited.  I explained to her that she cannot open them until next week and she said ok.  Then that little sweetie looked up at me and said, “Mommy where are your presents?  All of these are for me.”

 

I explained to her that my presents were coming with Santa on Christmas morning and not to worry about it.  I also let her know that she will go shopping with my parents later on so that she will have something to give to me.  This seemed to pacify her and off to school/work we went for the day. 

 

The next morning my alarm clock went off and as usual I hit the snooze button, but unknown to me Tooters snuck out of bed and turned it off.  She tip toed into the hall closet and got out the only wrapping paper she could reach and went into the kitchen.  There she sat at the table while was still asleep and wrapped 6 presents for me and put them under the tree.  Later on my parents started knocking at the door to let me know my dad was shoveling the driveway for me, and that is what woke me up 15 minutes late for work. 

 

Tooters dragged me into the living room and showed me the fruits of her labor.  I asked her what all that was under the tree and why did she use the baby shower and birthday paper.  She said that was all she could reach.  Tooters said that she could not shop so she wrapped up some of her stuff and put it under the tree so I would not feel left out.  I told her that she did not have to do that, then she looked at me and said, “But mom remember it is the thought that counts and I was thinking of you with my heart.”

 

OMG I sat down next to her and cried while I hugged her.  Of course that night I talked her into unwrapping her stuff so she could have it back and that I would get her presents next week.  She agreed and what I unwrapped amazed me.  One of them was her purse that I still borrow from time to time.  The other 5 were books from her shelf.  She said that she gave them to me because I am always telling her how precious books are and how much I love to read. 

 

This all just blew me away because she is actually listening and learning from me.  So I am going to rub it in that I have the most special little Santa’s helper in the world wrapped up in 4 feet of sweetness.  I think this is something I will remember the rest of my life.  I hope you all have a chance to have an experience as precious as I did earlier this week.