December 22, 2018 – “Christmas is Coming…”

I started a little Christmas tradition with my then 4-year old daughter (she’s now 36) which was just between her and me. My son who was 11 at the time, didn’t get in on this particular game. My daughter would bug me and bug me all year (usually for big-ticket items) as to what she wanted. “Mom, can I have this… can I have that, everybody has one…” And my response was always, “Christmas is coming,” meaning I couldn’t afford to get what she wanted right at the moment but would try very hard to get whatever it was for Christmas. When you’re a single parent raising children in grade school, middle school and high school, it becomes very difficult sometimes to make ends meet while granting wishes and fulfilling needs of your kids. I know. I lived it for many years. I had a lot of help from my parents who kicked in for several expensive items, i.e., sports fees, sports shoes, that kind of thing, for my daughter and my son. Both my kids made every team they tried out for and it got to be very expensive for me but I didn’t want them to go without anything that was important to them. Such is often the life of a single parent. You do the best you can without expecting anything in return. However, I do miss those days and I really miss saying the words to my daughter. It was a game she and I played. Then one day the requests for things stopped. She grew up, lives on her own, has her own job and can afford what she wants without having to wait. I miss those “Christmas is coming” days. Merry Christmas to all.