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Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I saw her squatting and looking eye to eye at the packaged item standing under the Christmas tree. It was four in the morning, and I had no idea how long she had been there.
I was grateful for the toys and clothes Mother had bought for my children. She had set a few unwrapped items under the tree before retiring to bed, doing her bit to keep the fantasy of Santa alive for another year—a magnanimous gesture for one who so despised the myth.
If it had not been for her, my children would have wondered if Santa cared about them. Divorced, unemployed, and with a scant amount of support money, what little allowance I received from the government barely paid for rent and food. Outside of crayons and coloring books, Christmas, as I hoped it would be, was out of the question.
Mother understood my heartache. She herself had known many disappointing Christmases, and hoped to provide better for her own children; but, it was not until Christmas, 1948, that she first began to actually despise Santa. “Santa Claus is a cruel hoax for poor children.”
The years following World War II were difficult for returning vets. Jobs were scarce and finding shelter for their families a daunting task. The only housing my parents could afford was in the south side of the city. They rented a cold-water flat, the euphemism for apartments with no running hot water. Rats often found their way into the cleanest of these dwellings. The adaptive rodents would eat anything, even gnawing their way through aluminum garbage cans. They thrived in cold-water flats. Fearful that the rats would bite her children, Mother spent many sleepless nights vigilantly listening for any sounds that might indicate danger.
A child of the depression and a wife of a war soldier, Mother was grateful for her surroundings, grateful that her family was together under one roof even if money were scarce. My father’s factory paycheck paid the rent and bought food—leaving little for luxuries of any kind, especially events like Christmas. I was still a baby, unaware that there was a special day to be excited about. My brother, on the other hand, had been looking forward to Christmas and to Santa’s showering of presents for all good boys and girls.
At first, my brother was thrilled when he opened the holster gun set and cowboy hat under the tree. “Oh, boy! I’m a real cowboy, now!” He flitted about the house shooting bad men that lurked behind the couch and chair. Then he took his treasure outside. It was not long before he rushed back into the house, his countenance forever changed. “Have I been good, Mom?” my brother asked.
“Of course, you have,” Mother reassured him.
“Then why did Santa Claus only bring me two presents? Santa brought Danny ten presents and a new bike?”
My mother didn’t know how to answer his child spirit. How could she explain poverty to a four-year-old, an innocent who didn’t know he was poor? Mother took the fall for Santa.
“Well, honey,” she ventured to explain. “Moms and dads have to pay Santa for the presents. We didn’t have very much money to give him.” She watched helplessly as her child faced the brutal realities of social inequities for the first time in his life, knowing the experience would be repeated many times over.
Yes, I knew Mother understood the heartache I felt that Christmas.
My three-year-old turned to look at me, eyes filled with tears. “For me?” she asked, not quite believing it might be true.
“Yes, honey. Santa brought it for you.”
I helped her remove the cellophane wrapping. She hugged the treasured gift so tightly, her little fingers turned white.
“It’s just what I wanted! He remembered!”
“Yes, he remembered.”
In my heart, I was grateful to a mother whose memory reached from her pain and gave comfort.
ABOUT IT REALLY IS A WONDERFUL LIFE
Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Really-Wonderful-Life-Linda-Rondeau-ebook-dp-B07YYNNNQS/dp/B07YYNNNQS
Midville newcomer and Iraq War widow, Dorie Fitzgerald, despises the frigid Adirondack wasteland that has now become her home. After twenty failed job interviews, she questions the wisdom of moving to be near her parents. Desperate to belong, she joins the local Community Theater, in production for It’s a Wonderful Life.
Jamey Sullivan has put his professional life on hold in order to run the family business and to help his ailing father. He signs on for Midville’s production of It’s a Wonderful Life, although he hopes to receive a Broadway casting call any day now.
When these two meet, they are instantly attracted to one another. However, ambition, demanding children, and a romantic rival threaten to squash their growing love for one another. Each must discover that the best things in life are found where your heart resides.
It Really is a Wonderful Life is set in the beautiful Adirondack mountains, a perfect backdrop for a Christmas romance.
ABOUT LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
Linda Wood Rondeau is a retired social worker and resides in Hagerstown, Md. Readers may visit her blog Snark and Sensibility (also found on her website www.lindarondeau.com.) The author may be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Goodreads. Her latest non-fiction release, I Prayed for Patience God Gave Me Children, a study as well as a devotional, explores the meaning of being God’s child. The author has written ten books, primarily contemporary fiction. Watch for her short contemporary novel, Second Comings, to be released in late winter as well as her non-fiction, Who Put the Vinegar in the Salt, to be released late spring. The author enjoys teaching at writers conferences and serves as Senior Fiction Editor and Senior Fiction Acquisitions Editor for Elk lake Publishing, Inc.
THE YEARS THE LOCUSTS ATE
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CATHEDRAL STATE PARK, WEST VIRGINIA
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PRIME OF MY LIFE
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FULL CIRCLE
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12/7/2020
GREEN STUFF AND HUBS
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12/2/2020
NOEL: THE CAT WHO CAME FOR CHRISTMAS
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11/30/2020
GREEN STUFF MAGIC
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11/23/2020
WHEN GRANDMA FORGETS
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HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF BLUE ZONES?
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FIVE WAYS SENIORS CAN BOOST THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEMS
GINNY DENT BRANT
10/19/2020
IF YOU CAN'T BEAT 'EM JOIN 'EM
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9/28/2020
WALKING IN A WRITER'S WONDERLAND
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9/7/2020
CREAMING
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LIFE IS THE ADVENTURE
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8/24/2020
QUITTING MY DAY JOB
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ADAPT OR DIE
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7/27/2020
SAY THANK YOU TO OUR FRIENDS IN BLUE
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7/20/2020
THE SWEET COUPLE HOLDING HANDS
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7/13/2020
SURPRISE! SURPRISE! SURPRISE!
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7/6/2020
FROM FICTION TO NON-FICTION AND BACK AGAIN
GAIL KITTLESON
6/29/2020
WHO SAID GROWING OLD IS FUN?
MARTHA ROGERS
6/22/2020
AND NOT TO YIELD
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6/15/2020
MY CULTURAL DISCONNECT
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6/8/2020
WHAT IS RETIREMENT
JULIE COSGROVE
6/1/2020
LOOKING UP OR LOOKING AWAY
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5/25/2020
SEEKING GOD
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5/11/2020
HOW OLD ARE YOU
Rachel J. Good
5/4/2020
IT'S NOT OKAY
MARTIN WILES
4/27/2020
EMBRACING MY INNER BOOMER
BARBARA BRITTON
4/20/2020
THE RACE FOR LILY
SHERRI STEWART
4/13/2020
GRANNY ALICE
LYNNE BASHAM TAGAWA
4/6/2020
RESILIENCE
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3/29/2020
LIVING WITH CHANGE
MARTIN WILES
3/9/2020
WHEN THE GROCERY STORE CLERK HAS TO CHECK YOUR AGE
MELISSA HENDERSON
2/24/2020
THE IMPORTANCE OF CREAMING
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2/17/2020
FRIENDS AT ANY AGE
ERIN UNGER
2/3/2020
IDENTITY CHECK
MARTIN WILES
1/27/2020
IF YOU CAN'T BEAT 'EM, JOIN 'EM
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1/20/2020
MY POSSESSIONS MATURE ALONG WITH ME
MARIE WATTS
1/13/2020
EYES FRONT
TERRI MAIN
1/6/2020
THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGING'
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12/30/2019
SANTA'S RELUCTANT HELPER
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12/23/2019
THE PURSUIT OF WEALTH
DEBRA COLEMAN JETER
12/16/2019
VANQUISHING THE CHRISTMAS BLUES
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12/9/2019
GRANDMAS THEN VS GRANDMAS NOW
GAIL SATTLER
12/2/2019
TECHNO BLUES
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11/25/2019
ADAPT OR DIE
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11/18/2019
CREAMING
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11/11/2019
When our Get Up and Go Gets Up and Goes
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11/4/2019
LIFE IS THE ADVENTURE
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10/28/2019
MY LIFE AS A BARCODE
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10/21/2019
THE QUEST FOR THIN
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10/14/2019
THE AMERICAN DREAM
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10/7/2019
FROM GOLDEN YEARS TO GOLDEN BELLS
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9/30/2019
THE CHORDS THAT BIND MY MEMORIES
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9/23/2019
JUST BE STILL
MARTIN WILES
9/16/2019
PRINCE CHARMING, SPIDERS, AND CHEMO
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9/2/2019
GRAY IS GRAND
LOREE PEERY
8/26/2019
A GOOD QUESTION
GEORGE CARGILL
8/19/2019
LOVING THE BABY BOOMER GENERATION
ERIN UNGER
8/12/2019
MAKING PRETTY THINGS
KATHY MCKINSEY
8/5/2019
ARE YOU TOO OLD TO BECOME AN AUTHOR
HARRY WEGLEY
7/29/2019
ENJOY THE MEAL
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7/22/2019
IN THE GOOD OLD SUMMERTIME
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7/15/2019
KEEPING IT FRESH
WANDA O. HOT
7/8/2019
OVERFLOWING WITH BLESSINGS
CLEO LAMPOS
7/1/2019
HAVING THE PRIME OF MY LIFE
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6/24/2019
GOLDEN GIRL
PAT JEANNE DAVIS
6/17/2019
WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW
CLEO LAMPOS
6/10/2019
Food, Families, and Fond Memories
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6/3/2019
FOR THOSE OVER FIFTY-FIVE
JUNE FOSTER
5/20/2019
NEXT GENERATION
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5/13/2019
Mimi and Bop
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5/6/2019
NEVER TO OLD TO START OVER
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4/29/2019
THE WRITER'S CALLING
SHERRI STEWART
4/15/2019
PLAYING THROUGH THE FOG
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4/8/2019
SOMETIMES WE JUST NEED TO TURN OFF THE GPS
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4/1/2019
DON’T CALL HER MA’AM
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3/25/2019
When Your Past Looms Longer than Your Future
Debra Coleman Jeter
3/18/2019
OUR MCDONALDS
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3/11/2019
BORN TOO LATE
DIANNE BARKER
3/4/2019
PERSPECTIVE
LISA LICKEL
2/25/2019
IS IT THE BEGINNING OR THE END
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2/18/2019
MY TO-DO LIST
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2/11/2019
ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING
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MAMA, I CAN'T TAKE A BATH THERE'S A FISH IN THE TUB
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1/21/2019
EAT RIGHT NOW LIVE LONGER LATER
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1/14/2019
AM I STRESSED?
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1/7/2019
SHOULD VS WANT
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I'LL BE ALONE FOR CHRISTMAS ... YOU CAN COUNT ON ME
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12/24/2018
THE ONLY CONSTANT IS CHANGE
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12/17/2018
LIVING WITHOUT REGRET
Grant Ferguson
12/10/2018
GROWING UP CAN BE FUN SO IS GETTING OLDER
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SOARING WITH BROKEN WINGS
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11/19/2018
NEVER TOO LATE
DIANE TATUM
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The Not So Good Good Old Days
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10/22/2018