The Magic of Christmas Had Vanished

When I was growing up, Christmas was always a magical time. We lived in a small town close to all my relatives on my Mom's side. Each Christmas we would make the rounds. Even when my parents hit hard financial times, we never knew it. There were always presents under the tree. I loved the sights, sounds and smells of Christmas.

When I grew up and had kids of my own, I wanted to pass along that same Christmas magic. I wanted them to believe in Santa Claus. I wanted them to have fond memories of a very special holiday. And for the first few years of my first 3 children's lives, we succeeded.

Then my husband got transferred to Michigan. We were a long way from our families. Shortly after we arrived in Michigan, recession hit and my husband lost his job. At the time, the unemployment rate in Michigan was in the double digits. We went from being an upper middle class family to a family living on welfare. Each month became a struggle to make ends meet. My husband would literally scour the neighborhood on heavy trash pickup days to find things that he could fix up and then sell at a garage sell so we could have food to eat.

This was the year that my dreams of preserving the magic of Christmas were shattered. For Thanksgiving we had a banquet frozen turkey entre and a few vegetables, for Christmas I wasn't sure we would be able to have even that. There was not going to be any presents under the tree or stockings hanging on the chimney. My kids were 5, 4, and 5 months. They still believed in Santa and he wasn't coming this year.

I was so depressed. I had failed. But my husband wouldn't let me wallow in pity. He started gathering things around the house and spent a few cents at a local hardware store. Suddenly, my daughter had a chalkboard (made out of scrap wood and black paint), my son had his own tool kit (made up of some of my husband's old tools) and the baby had a new rattle. The kids got involved too. They made their dad a wallet out of some old leather and lace. We made an angel for our tree out of a toilet paper roll, a blown light bulb, some cotton, and some old material. She was a sight to behold.

It wasn't the magical Christmas of my childhood but in some ways this Christmas turned out to be one of my favorites. We had pulled together as a family and shared more than just a few store bought presents; we share our love for one another. Maybe it was a magical Christmas after all.