Image courtesy of simonkoleznik

Do you need help remembering the good things in your life? Read this story and I think it will help you remember.

One of my mothers friends called her crying on Christmas Eve. My mom thought that maybe something had happened to one of her kids. She has two older kids who live in another state and she has 2 younger kids still at home. The older kids are in their twenties and they are no stranger to the legal system. The kids at home are 12 and 5 and the father is not in the picture.


The reason she was crying is that she did not have any money to buy gifts for her kids. As adults, we all know the true reason for the season and it is not all about gifts. For the children though, it is all about what Santa is going to bring them.

Imagine the smaller child waking up on Christmas morning and finding that Santa left no gifts for him. I can only imagine how upset the child must have been.

My mom called her friend today to check on them but she was not able to get in contact with her.

5 comments

  1. Zazzu // December 27, 2008 at 12:15 PM  

    This is the sad consequence of lying to one's children about the myth of Santa Claus. People who tell their kids that a jolly, fat man delivers presents to good boys and girls are LIARS. (Gee, Mommy, why did the rich juvenile delinquent down the street get 100 times more toys than I did? Wasn't I just as good this year? Does Santa love him more?)

    We teach our children not to lie, but make huge hypocrites of ourselves with this whole Santa deception.

  2. Tiffanie // December 27, 2008 at 11:05 PM  

    I hate hearing about things like this. It is heartbreaking. It's too bad she didn't contact someplace like Salvation Army or Toys for Tots or something and get her family signed up in time to receive SOMETHING for her children for Christmas. Even a few things under the tree is better than nothing to a small child.

  3. Anonymous // December 28, 2008 at 11:09 PM  

    And your post left me wondering about the rest of the story. For instance, WHY didn't the woman have any money? Did she waste her money on nonessentials or, worse, drugs or alcohol? Why did she wait until Xmas Eve to think about it and reach out to her friend? And what did you mother do in response? THOSE are the details that would have made this story interesting. Without them, I don't feel sad. Just frustrated because I only got half the story & have no clear idea of precisely WHY I should feel sad. A skilled writer doesn't tell his/her readers how to feel. Rather, he/she tells the story in such as way as to evoke the response he/she seeks.

  4. SingleGuyMoney // December 29, 2008 at 6:15 AM  

    @jhs: As I mentioned in the post, this is a friend of my mothers; not mine. I don't know the specific details of her finances.

    By the way, nowhere on this blog have I ever claimed to be a "skilled" writer. :-)

    Thanks for your opinions though.

  5. Anonymous // December 29, 2008 at 8:19 PM  

    When I was a kid, I never really believed that Santa existed. When my parents gave me a gift when I was little and they told it is from Santa, I knew it was just from them. The Santa thing could not really be materialized in our country. There's no snow. :)