A Little Gift--A Personal Christmas Story

[Lee Storm(God Is The Healing Force)]

This is a true story that I bring to you all.  I hope you enjoy my little
"E-Gift." :-)  The actual writing of this was done in the beginning of 2004
and some friends wanted me to publish this, but I never did.  So, I figured
I'd share it here.

A Bell For Christmas
by Lee Storm

Christmas of 1964 was no ordinary Christmas in our house.  Oh, things
started in the usual way on Christmas Eve with our traditional dinner at my
Oma's (grandma's) house with Oma, my Uncle Walty, my very pregnant Mom,
Daddy and me, who was five years old at the time.  Our traditional dinner
was Gruen Cole (a cooked, ground kale) and pork.  We always had fun, ending
the dinner with a little bit of chocolate liqueur in a little chocolate cup.
I always felt so special because I was included and would slurp the contents
of my cup and then--chomp!  After dinner we went home and I, of course, went
to bed; I sure didn't want Santa to see me awake!

It was then that the traditional Christmas stuff was drastically changed for
that year.  I remember being woken up very early Christmas morning by my
Daddy who told me I had a new brother.  Mom, apparently thinking she was
suffering a bit of indigestion from the gruen cole dinner, had called my Oma
who immediately got Mom into a cab and took her to the hospital.  And, that
supposed indigestion was a very quick labor and, to quote a phrase, "She
brought forth her first-born son."  A Christmas present.

Christmas morning dawned, I opened presents with Daddy, and then found
myself at Oma's joined by Tante (Aunt) Betty and Uncle Gunther.  I found out
I was going to be spending the week at there house.  Okay, this didn't
bother me; I thought spending a week with Tante Betty and Uncle Gunther
would be cool! They had such a neat house.

Oma gave Tante Betty a beautiful glass dinner bell for Christmas that year.
It was a lovely bell with a wonderful clear sound.  I fell in love with it,
and remember ringing it for dinner while I was there for that week and,
subsequently, looking for it to give it a ring every time I was over there.
That bell...thinking of it not being there would be--well--weird!

The years have come and gone; my brother, John, has grown into a strong,
God-loving young man; he has been subjected to the jokes about being merely
a case of indigestion.  And my other brother, Tracey, born about a year and
a half after John, is married to a lovely lady and they have a babe of their
own.  Through it all, I would still have thoughts about that wonderful bell.

Around Christmas of 2002, my husband, Art, and I had gone to celebrate with
Tante Betty and Uncle Gunther.  Somehow, the bell came up in conversation.
I asked if it still existed; Tante Betty said it certainly did, but she
didn't know where it was.  We looked a bit in the hutch in the dining room,
but didn't find it.  But I remembered...that sweet, clear sound from such a
lovely glass bell.

We were slated to visit Tante Betty and Uncle Gunther the day after
Christmas of 2003.  We almost didn't get there! Shortly before noon, the
furnace began making a fierce racket and had to be shut down.  We put in a
call to Tante Betty to let her know we were having a problem and might not
be able to make it to their house that day, but we'd keep them posted.
Then, we phoned PSE&G for furnace repair, and the earliest they could slot
us in was Sunday...and this was Friday!  Art and I made the appointment
rather grudgingly.  The idea of no heat from Friday, Dec. 26 to Sunday, Dec.
28, did not sit well with me.  I contacted our police department and,
through them, got the name of someone in our town who might be able to help
us in far shorter order.

I made contact with the gentleman, Mr. Montagna, through his wife who
promised me that she'd beep him and would call me back.  I called Tante
Betty again and talked to my cousin, Christine.  We arranged that if they
didn't hear from us, we weren't coming.  If we called back, we were on our
way.

Twenty minutes later, there was a knock at our back door and there was Mr.
Montagna, ready and willing to help us.  Within 15 minutes, he had put a new
coupling from the motor to the pump and the furnace was purring like a happy
kitten again.  God was really with us!  In hind-sight, I believe God really
wanted us to get to Tante Betty and Uncle Gunther.

So, Art and I got dressed and, armed with Bailey's Irish Cream for the
Gunthers, we headed off.  I phoned them from the car on our cell and let
Tante Betty know we were rolling and our furnace was fixed.

When we got there, we sat with wine and munchies...Art and me, Christine and
Seth, Tante Betty and Uncle Gunther...all just truly enjoying being
together.

Then, the presents! The Gunthers were most delighted with the Irish Cream;
that made me happy.  And they had presents for us.  Art got a nicely wrapped
box of cologne and Tante Betty handed me a lovely little gift bag, warning
me to open it very carefully.

And I did; most carefully.  And in my hands was...the bell.  I held it, gave
it a little ring, and so many wonderful feelings welled up within me as did
the tears.  My Tante Betty had given me that precious bell for Christmas.

Lots of tears from all of us, lots of hugs, lots of wonderful memories.

The rest of that afternoon and evening were filled with fun and lots of
wonderful food.  By the time Art and I left, we were very well stuffed and
just felt good all over.

Yup, God wanted us to be there; He wanted me to receive a most precious
gift...a bell full of lovely memories, a feeling of family specialness and
love.  Even when writing this, I have tears in my eyes.

Thank you, Lord, for your gift, and thank you, Tante Betty, for remembering
and being the special instrument of a special gift.  Whenever I look at and
ring the bell, I'll remember...lots of love, lots of great Christmases and
warm feelings, and how it all started back on the Christmas of 1964.

Do not walk behind me,    | Lee Storm
I may not care to lead;   | N2FGC
Do not walk before me,    | n2fgc at arrl.net (or)
I may not care to follow; | n2fgc at optonline.net
Walk beside me, and be my friend.