Christmas Envelope

[2tiredmom]

It's just a small white envelope stuck among the branches of our
> > Christmas
> > tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through
> > the
> > branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so.
> >
> >
> >
> > It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas -- oh, not the
true
> > meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it -- the
> > overspending,
> > the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle
Harry
> > and the dusting powder for Grandma -- the gifts given in desperation
> > because
> > you couldn't think of anything else.
> >
> >
> >
> > Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual
shirts,
> > sweaters, ties, and so forth. I reached for something special just for
> > Mike.
> > The inspiration came in an unusual way.
> >
> >
> >
> > Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level
at
> > the school he attended. Shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league
> > match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church.
> >
> >
> >
> > These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed
> > to
> > be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to
our
> > boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling
> > shoes. As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was
> > wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a
> > wrestler's ears. It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not
> > afford.
> >
> >
> >
> > Well, we ended up walloping them. We took every weight class. And as
each
> > of their boys got up from the mat, he swaggered around in his tatters
with
> > false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn't acknowledge defeat.
> > Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, "I wish just one of them
> > could
> > have won," he said. "They have a lot of potential, but losing like this
> > could take the heart right out of them." Mike loved kids -- all kids --
> > and
> > he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball, and
> > lacrosse.
> >
> >
> >
> > That's when the idea for his present came. That afternoon, I went to a
> > local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling
headgear
> > and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church. On
Christmas
> > Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike
what
> > I
> > had done and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest
> > thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years.
> >
> >
> >
> > For each Christmas, I followed the tradition -- one year sending a
group
> > of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a
check
> > to
> > a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week
> > before Christmas, and on and on.
> >
> >
> >
> > The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the
> > last
> > thing opened on Christmas morning, and our children, ignoring their new
> > toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the
> > envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.
> >
> >
> >
> > As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but
> > the envelope never lost its allure. The story doesn't end there. You
see,
> > we
> > lost Mike last year due to dreaded cancer. When Christmas rolled around,
I
> > was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up. But
Christmas
> > Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning it was
> > joined by three more.
> >
> >
> >
> > Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope
> > on
> > the tree for their dad. The tradition has grown and someday will expand
> > even
> > further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed
> > anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope.
> >
> >
> >
> > Mike's spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us. May
we
> > all remember Christ, who is the reason for the season, and the true
> > Christmas spirit this year and always.
> >
> >
> >
> > God Bless! -- pass this along to your friends and loved ones
> >