Gift Of The Magi

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me

three generations.

For as long as I can remember, my brother, sister and I woke up every Christmas morning to three gifts under the tree from Santa. I never questioned Mother as to why she did this, but it was a tradition that my sister and I carried on with our children and now they do the same with theirs. Maybe it had to do with the Three Wise Men bringing gifts of frankincense, gold, and myrrh to the Christ child on that cold winter's night that was so deep. It's a lovely tradition and one I continue to do.

We lost our daddy shortly before Thanksgiving 1988. It was an unexpected blow and our world was shattered....he was only 64.

I was beyond consolation and did nothing to get ready for Christmas except put up a sad, little tree. My heart was elsewhere that year. I hadn't even begun to do any shopping and it looked like my children would get up to an empty tree. My sweet sister, who was feeling her own deep moments of grief, showed up at my door one night just two days before Christmas. She told me to get my coat, purse and checkbook. She literally drug me to the mall and helped me make gift selections for the family. All the while, gently nudging me onward and forward, she checked each name off the list. She checked and double-checked to make sure there were at least three gifts for Joey and Jenn before she brought me home...her work complete.

My grief was no stronger than hers...my devastation no deeper and yet she provided the strength I didn't have. We were both hurting, lost souls and yet...she carried me when we both needed carrying. She loved me more than herself. I could never in my wildest dreams selected a gift for myself that would ever surpass hers. The memory of it is one of my most treasured possessions.

Joey and Jenn never knew about the "Christmas that almost wasn't" because of Kerri. Those gifts under the tree in 1988 remain some their favorites, perhaps because each was tied with an aunt's..and a sister's...unending love.