Mom's Christmas Gift
Bobby was getting cold sitting out in his back yard in
the snow. Bobby didn't wear boots; he didn't like them and
anyway he didn't own any. The thin sneakers he wore had a
few holes in them and they did a poor job of keeping out the
cold.
Bobby had been in his backyard for about an hour already.
And, try as he might, he could not come up with an idea for
his mother's Christmas gift.
He shook his head as he thought, "This is useless, even if I
do come up with an idea, I don't have any money to spend."
Ever since his father had passed away three years ago, the
family of five had struggled. It wasn't because his mother
didn't care, or try, there just never seemed to be enough.
She worked nights at the hospital, but the small wage that
she was earning could only be stretched so far.
What the family lacked in money and material things, they
more than made up for in love and family unity. Bobby had
two older and one younger sister, who ran the household in
their mother's absence. All three of his sisters had already
made beautiful gifts for their mother. Somehow it just
wasn't fair. Here it was Christmas Eve already, and he had
nothing. Wiping a tear from his eye, Bobby kicked the snow
and started to walk down to the street where the shops and
stores were. It wasn't easy being six without a father,
especially when he needed a man to talk to.
Bobby walked from shop to shop, looking into each decorated
window. Everything seemed so beautiful and so out of reach.
It was starting to get dark and Bobby reluctantly turned to
walk home when suddenly his eyes caught the glimmer of the
setting sun's rays reflecting off of something along the
curb. He reached down and discovered a shiny dime.
Never before has anyone felt so wealthy as Bobby felt at
that moment. As he held his new found treasure, a warmth
spread throughout his entire body and he walked into the
first store he saw. His excitement quickly turned cold when
salesperson after salesperson told him that he could not buy
anything with only a dime.
He saw a flower shop and went inside to wait in line. When
the shop owner asked if he could help him, Bobby presented
the dime and asked if he could buy one flower for his
mother's Christmas gift. The shop owner looked at Bobby and
his ten cent offering. Then he put his hand on Bobby's
shoulder and said to him, "You just wait here and I'll see
what I can do for you."
As Bobby waited, he looked at the beautiful flowers and even
though he was a boy, he could see why mothers and girls
liked flowers. The sound of the door closing as the last
customer left, jolted Bobby back to reality. All alone in
the shop, Bobby began to feel alone and afraid.
Suddenly the shop owner came out and moved to the counter.
There, before Bobby's eyes, lay twelve long stem, red roses,
with leaves of green and tiny white flowers all tied
together with a big silver bow. Bobby's heart sank as the
owner picked them up and placed them gently into a long
white box.
"That will be ten cents young man." the shop owner said
reaching out his hand for the dime. Slowly, Bobby moved his
hand to give the man his dime.
Could this be true? No one else would give him a thing for
his dime! Sensing the boy's reluctance, the shop owner
added, "I just happened to have some roses on sale for ten
cents a dozen. Would you like them?"
This time Bobby did not hesitate, and when the man placed
the long box into his hands, he knew it was true. Walking
out the door that the owner was holding for Bobby, he heard
the shop keeper say, "Merry Christmas, son."
As he returned inside, the shop keepers wife walked out.
"Who were you talking to back there and where are the roses
you were fixing?" Staring out the window, and blinking the
tears from his own eyes, he replied, "A strange thing
happened to me this morning. While I was setting up things
to open the shop, I thought I heard a voice telling me to
set aside a dozen of my best roses for a special gift. I
wasn't sure at the time whether I had lost my mind or what,
but I set them aside anyway. Then just a few minutes ago, a
little boy came into the shop and wanted to buy a flower for
his mother with one small dime.
When I looked at him, I saw myself, many years ago. I too
was a poor boy with nothing to buy my mother a Christmas
gift. A bearded man, whom I never knew, stopped me on the
street and told me that he wanted to give me ten dollars.
When I saw that little boy tonight, I knew who that voice
was, and I put together a dozen of my very best roses."
The shop owner and his wife hugged each other tightly, and
as they stepped out into the bitter cold air, they somehow
didn't feel cold at all.
Author unknown. If anyone has a proprietary interest in this story please authenticate and I will be happy to credit, or remove, as the circumstances dictate.
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