Cheryl’s First Story

CHERYL’S 1ST STORY

I was in the second grade when we wrote letters to Santa.  In my letter to Santa, besides asking for a doll that had a baby carriage, I had to write what else I wanted.  I asked for a warm winter coat for my mother because she was always cold.  She was a single mom, and although I wasn’t aware of all the hardships she was experiencing, I did know she was cold.

One thing I didn’t know is that the letters were sent to the Chamber of Commerce.  Out of all the letters that were sent, they chose mine.

One day close to Christmas, my mother and grandmother were pretty excited.  They said a visitor was coming.  I didn’t understand why they were so excited, but I could tell something unusual was going on.  Pretty soon there was a knock on the front door and Santa Claus came in.  He had the doll I had requested as well as a warm winter coat for my mother.

I knew I was supposed to be very grateful and I tried as hard as any 7-year-old could.  What was devastating for me was that I could tell it wasn’t really Santa.  His beard coming off was the first thing I couldn’t help but notice.  He also had on fake plastic boots that showed his real shoes underneath.  I had so many conflicting thoughts going on in my head.  If this really wasn’t Santa, was there really a Santa?  Why were my mom and grandma pretending he was Santa?  How did that man know about my letter?

I was happy that my mom got a warm coat, but I did have conflicting feelings about me getting my doll and her baby carriage.