December 25, 2019
After you lose a loved one, but especially after you lose a child, it is difficult at times to remember the good memories you were so blessed to make with them. But as the years pass, your broken heart begins to heal, even if just a little, and you begin to be able to share the wonderful stories about your loved one.
A few nights ago, as I sat in my living room drinking a cup of herbal tea at two in the morning, a long forgotten Christmas memory of my son Joey, randomly popped into my head. I say randomly, yet over the last nineteen years, I have come to believe that these thoughts truly are never random. I would like to think that my son reminds me of these beautiful memories at a time when I truly need them most.
So it was Christmas Eve, and Joey was four years old. We were still living in the Allentown area. I was pretty much done with buying and wrapping all our gifts. But those last minute stocking stuffers still needed to be purchased. So I left Joey at home with his Dad, and made my way up to the nearest K Mart. As I quickly made my way through the aisles, I noticed a toy display that caught my eye. It was a blue metal four wheeler, with a plastic rider dressed in motorcycle attire, permanently attached to it. It was a nice size too, maybe 8 by 10 inches. It was manual, that is, powered by kid power, not remote controlled. I knew how much Joey liked motorcycles and four wheelers, and it was only $5.00. So I bought it for him, went home and wrapped it, and put it under the tree.
So on Christmas morning, after Joey finished unwrapping all the presents we had bought for him, and there were quite a few, he decided to announce which was his favorite. And you guessed it! He basically said, ” mommy do you know which present is my favorite? It’s the four wheeler. It’s the best present ever! ” If I close my eyes tight enough, and concentrate hard enough, I can still see that big smile on that beautiful little four year old’s face. Thank you Joey for reminding me of that amazing Christmas memory ?!
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