By Lady Gray, December 16, 2014 — There is a saying that “When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.” My personal philosophy sounds more like, “If things can’t happen when they are supposed to, pick another time for them to happen.” My sons told me while they were growing up, some of their friends said, “Man, your mom is crazy.” My answer was always, “I’m all right; it’s the world that’s twisted!” Eventually, my boys learned to go with the flow.
By the time Christmas came in 1990, I was feeling the financial pinch. We had a really bad snow earlier in the year so there were days I couldn’t go to work. My job had a simple rule; no work, no pay, so I spent the rest of the year playing catch-up with the bills while receiving unemployment compensation. In October, when it was time to teach a tax prep class, I could breathe a little easy but now I was faced with a heartbreaking reality. No one wants to disappoint their kids at Christmas but this time, the choice was clear- buy oil to heat the house or toys and other gifts for my sons. I seldom kept things from them so I sat them down and had a heart-to-heart talk with them to let them know what we were facing. I have good boys, all of them, from my youngest who was 7 to the oldest who was 19 said they understood. They said they were glad the house would be warm. I have always known the real reason for the season and so did they but I still saw a hint of disappointment in their eyes.
Still, they braved it through the Christmas holiday. We baked a lot of cookies and gave tins of cookies to family and friends and they did get some presents from other relatives and their godmothers. I was glad that we had put the tree up because they did get a few things to put under it. It did ease the sour taste in my mouth when they got the chance to visit with their cousins because it took their focus off of how bad I was feeling. Putting on a happy face was not working and I really tried.
Over the next six months, we celebrated 3 birthdays and that lightened my mood because I was able to provide each one with a nice birthday celebration and they seemed to have forgotten all about Christmas. That July (1991), I got a surprise check from the mortgage company. A letter of explanation came with it but I know the only things I saw were the words REFUND and EXCESS and the number IN FRONT of a comma and a bunch of zeros!
My hands were shaking and I was crying, then I started laughing; then I was doing both. “Come on, Sister, Breathe,” I told myself. Then I just had a Hallelujah moment at the top of my lungs. I was glad the guys were at summer camp; two of them worked there and the rest were campers.
After I pulled myself back to earth, I called a friend who had been laid off from his job and asked him if he’d like to make a few dollars driving me around. I was not about to put my plan in motion without some help and an extra pair of eyes to watch over me. After I deposited the check and made a withdrawal, I went on a mission. I went to a clothing store, a toy store, a book store, and the supermarket. Once we got back to my house, I asked him to get the Christmas tree out of the basement. We had an artificial tree I kept as back-up for any year I decided I didn’t feel like shopping for one. My friend looked at me like I was crazy and I simply repeated my favorite line. “I’m okay; it’s the world that’s twisted!” He shrugged his shoulders and went along. He even got in the spirit and helped me decorate. I wrapped presents and put them under the tree and then, I set the table. While he checked on the food, I wrapped a gift for him too. Giving him gas money for chauffeuring me around all day did not seem like enough to say thanks.
By the time my guys came in from the summer camp, my project was completed. I had plugged in the Christmas lights just before they walked in the front door. Each one came in the house looking like they were in the wrong place. They had expressions ranging from confusion to amazement. Finally, my middle child (age 13), broke the ice, “Okay Mom, what’s up? Are you feeling alright?” “I feel fine, better than fine, in fact, because God is sooooo good. We couldn’t really celebrate like I wanted to in December so we’re celebrating Christmas in July! So come celebrate with me and Mr. J.”
Once they got into the spirit of the day, they got excited. I watched their faces as they opened up the presents: sweaters, books, board games and toys and I thought, this is how it should be, God. You blessed me with good boys. They deserve these happy moments. I loved watching them laugh and joke around with each other, saying who was going to beat who at what game. When we sat down to eat, they all had something special on their hearts to share when we said grace. I did too. I thanked God for once again giving me the best day of my life so far.
