For some the
annual decorating of the tree holds treasured customs of celebrating Christmas.
What Shayla
and I revered amongst all of the holiday festivities was the watching of
Christmas movies.
There was
the long-established re-watching of “How
the Grinch Stole Christmas”. I would laugh at the same parts, although seen
countless times over; I never grew tired of the dog with the sawed off antlers.
Shayla loved
“Mickey’s Christmas Carol” and we
eventually bought it. I recall her as a teenager pulling it out and laughing to
her heart’s content. I own “It’s a
Wonderful Life,” and for me the nostalgic yet riveting message of hope over
despair, resonates within me.
One year,
before the holidays began, I heard a song that made me sit on a chair and
listen to the following words by the band Newsong.
(The
Christmas Shoes):
It was almost Christmas
time
There I stood in
another line
Tryin' to buy that last
gift or two
Not really in the
Christmas mood
Standing right in front
of me was
A little boy waiting
anxiously
Pacing 'round like little
boys do
And in his hands he
held a pair of shoes
And his clothes were
worn and old
He was dirty from head
to toe
And when it came his
time to pay
I couldn't believe what
I heard him say
Sir, I want to buy
these shoes for my mama, please
It's Christmas Eve and
these shoes are just her size
Could you hurry, sir,
daddy says there's not much time
You see she's been sick
for quite a while
And I know these shoes
would make her smile
And I want her to look
beautiful, if mama meets Jesus tonight
He counted pennies for
what seemed like years
Then the cashier said,
"Son, there's not enough here"
He searched his pockets
frantically
Then he turned and he
looked at me
He said, "Mama
made Christmas good at our house
Though most years she
just did without
Tell me sir, what am I
going to do
Somehow I've got to buy
her these Christmas shoes"
So I laid the money
down, I just had to help him out
And I'll never forget
the look on his face when he said
"Mama's gonna look
so great"
I knew I'd caught a
glimpse of heaven's love
As he thanked me and
ran out
I knew that God had
sent that little boy
To remind me what
Christmas is all about…
By the end
of the song, I was in tears imagining what a sight that would be to experience!
If one is interested in knowing the validity of the actual story, turns out it
is more of a source of inspiration than actual fact. Regardless, the song did
encourage a book to be written by Donna VanLiere, called: “The Christmas Shoes,” and later a CBS movie by the same title.
When my
daughter came for the holidays one year, I had bought the movie (secretly, I
had already seen it and bawled through most of it). It did not take long before
Shayla, tears streaming down her cheeks, asked how could I be so mean to make
her watch such a heart-wrenching story? The irony of this was I too had begun
to weep, once again! She leaned over and grabbing onto me we pushed through the
DVD. Later, I asked if she wanted to keep it and she darted me a glare as if to
say, “Are you kidding me?”
From then
on, where ever our lives took us, the minute the Christmas season began, the
radio played the song repeatedly. One day, Shayla called me from her cell,
clearly upset. She explained that her day at the mall had been going rather
fabulous, when suddenly the Christmas Shoes song had come on and now she feared
scaring all the little children who had come to see Santa. Her mascara was smeared
down her face from bursting into tears. She muttered how that darn song had
‘ruined’ her shopping experience! I could not hold back my giggles, knowing how
deeply affected Shayla had been by the movie and soundtrack.
The year she
passed, I had bought “The National Tree.”
It is a movie about a glorious Sitka spruce tree that is uprooted in order to
become the National treasure set upon the grounds of the White House in
Washington, D.C.
After losing
her, I packed it away…still unopened into a box that read: “Store Away- Forever.” This December
when embarking on the 12 days of Christmas, I soon found myself realizing that
I did not have the heart to shut Christmas out of my life for good. Shayla
would want none of that! I found the DVD and unwrapping it, let out a deep sigh.
“Wish you
were here…” I whispered to one of the many photographs that grace my
home.
I am a fan
favourite of Hallmark movies and this one was a captivating tale of the
bonds between a parent and a child. It focussed on the struggles, hardships and
disappointments life can bring your way. Yet, it also had a message of
inspiration, hope and love…all trademarks of the Hallmark franchise. What I was most fond of was the beloved Sitka
is the tree I am writing about in my own novel.
Afterwards,
I couldn’t help but be thankful for those fun, poignant and marvellous times,
where Shayla and I were infused by the enthralling stories reflective of
Christmas. Whatever manner the spirit of the season has been expressed, it
honours the traditions we have and carry on…despite our grief.
By T.L.
Alton
