Christmas Stories: 9 Children Pool Money to Make Parents' Holiday Bright

My family had moved to Idaho to be near my uncle's family. My dad's brother had cancer, and we did not know how much longer he would live. I am the sixth of nine children, and the six older children all got jobs. I was eleven at the time, and my oldest sibling was 19.

My dad had been a pricipal in Oregon and was trying to get a teaching job, but he was having no luck. About a month before Christmas my oldest sister (the second oldest in the family and 17) gathered all of the older kids together for a secret meeting. I was the youngest at the meeting. She talked about how our parents had always wanted a grandfather clock. But with money so tight and nine children to care for they would never get one on their own. She asked how we felt about putting all of our money together and buying a grandfather clock for them. We all agreed to do it. We gave what we had in savings to my sister and as we received paychecks we gave what we could. That whole month before christmas, instead of thinking about what I wanted for Christmas, I thought about getting that grandfather clock for my parents.

On Christmas Eve, after mom and dad had finished with their "Santa Claus" activties and gone to bed, my oldest brother and sister got out of bed and snuck out of the house. They pushed the car down the long driveway till it was far enough away from the small house and then started the car. They drove to where they had hidden the grandfather clock, put it in the car and returned home. They set it up in the living room, wound it and set the time.

The next morning we did the normal Christmas-morning routine. The kids woke up early, went into mom and dads room and listened as dad read the Christmas story from Luke, chapter 2 in the Bible. Dad then went out to prepare the room as the kids lined up youngest to oldest in the parents bedroom. While dad was preparing the room; turning on the Christmas tree lights, and checking the speakers of the new stereo system they bought for the kids, he did not notice the grandfather clock. Dad returned and we all marched out in age order into the living room. But as we entered the room and went to where our gifts were we all turned around and looked at our parents. They were confussed why we were looking at them. The Grandfather clock was right behind them. They finally turned around and saw the clock. The surprise on my mom's face was priceless. They were both so stunned. That's the year that I learned what Christmas is all about.