Submitted by: Fay Oxley
She is a grown woman now with a husband and children of her own. I remember the Christmas in 1960 when she was ten days old. She came to us when misfortune and worry seemed to follow us. Her father had been injured early in the summer and had been unable to work for many months.
We had very little money and bills were long over due. We had saved enough money to pay the hospital and buy only the things most needed for our baby. We brought her home to the small three room house where we lived. We had no tree or decorations, only our baby to remind us it was Christmas time.
My sister and her husband came by in the late afternoon. They had other plans and left us feeling lost and alone. I had always been use to happy times at Christmas with my brothers and sisters, gathering around the organ to sing old songs. As I looked at our bare little house, I could no longer hold back the tears. I sat down on our sofa and begin to cry.
I don’t know when I became aware that, my husband was sitting beside me holding our baby. He sat quietly for a while then, placed her in my arms. It seemed as if he was saying, “this is my gift to you, this precious baby and all my love.” As I looked up at him, I knew he was also afraid of what the future held for us and he did not need my tears. He needed only my love and a quiet time to enjoy our new baby.
We folded back her blanket and looked at the tiny hands and feet. We marveled at her long black hair. We talked about her name and wondered if she would like it. We talked quietly and softly. Our fears slipped away and we were happy and at peace and it was Christmas Eve.
We have been together, twenty eight years. Five more babies have joined our little girl.
The years have been good to us our house is safe and warm. Our tree is bright and shinning and there are many gifts beneath its branches. But we remember another home when we learned that love is the greatest gift of all.
By Fay Oxley
Birdseye, Indiana
U S Legacies Magazine October 2004
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