Christmas Past
So way back in my youth, dare I say, "Formative Years", money was tight. Christmas was fast approaching and the RallyClan of 5 were living in a 2 bedroom apartment that was as much a home as anyone could have asked for. I never really knew we were "poor". My Dad had a knack of never letting on that we were broke, just that money was tight and not to be wasted. I was never hungry. We may have had pancakes for dinner more often then most families, but I always thought of it as a treat. Looking back, I wonder if my parents ever went without. I don't know the answer to that question, and I don't know they would ever tell me the truth if they had. My Dad is a proud man. Maybe a little stubborn, but a very proud man. Anyhow....back to where I was going with this post......
It was Christmas Eve. I was probably 11, I don't know for sure. My Dad was the only one working, and this was a Christmas that was going to be bad. (Bad as far as a kid can perceive, Santa wasnt going to be bringing much of anything this year) I learned a few days after Christmas what had happened that night....It was a night that brings me back to KNOWING there is a Santa.
It was late Christmas Eve, and my Dad was sitting up watching TV, all us little kids were in bed, and my mom was dawdling about the apartment. My Dad heard something outside our patio, and saw a guy hiding in the bushes right infront of our place! (One should know, that my father was a rather tough S.O.B so this is not going to go well for this guy) Not one to avoid conflict, my Dad goes out on the patio and says something Christmasy like "Who the fuck is there!?". To which he gets a reply of...."Just go back inside.........please". My Dad recognized the voice, but couldnt immediately place it, and kept on asking who was there. The guy in the bush was pleading with my father to go back inside, and just pretend he heard nothing. This is really not ever going to happen. My Dad is not the type to just let a strange man stand in the bushes outside his patio on Christmas Eve, and let it go. So he presses on, and out from the bushes come my Aunts current boyfriend. He was a good man. He was a stockbroker, and made good money on the Vancouver Stock Exchange. He had taken us out to the PNE and Sesame Street on Ice, and all those things I would never have gotten to do. (Again, these are things I never really wanted to do, or even knew I was missing out on, or would have missed out on. My Dad always made sure I was in soccer, baseball, and anything else I wanted to be in so I thought I was normal) So there is this guy, on Christmas, in the bushes, in Surrey, late at night, and what does he have, but a "sleigh" full of gifts. Sure, it was a black toboggan, the really cool ones with the brakes and everything....but for the sake of the story it is a sleigh. There were toys for all of the three kids in there, and there was some stuff for my parents as well. This guy, was, and is Santa. He wouldn't come in without being prodded by my father. He wanted nothing in return. He just wanted to make my Christmas a little better then what it was going to be. I wish in a way, I was older that Christmas. Old enough to understand what that was really all about. I wish I could have gotten the chance to thank him. (He was later murdered in a bizarre situation involving corruption in the VSE) I don't know if I would have even noticed that Christmas was bad that year had he not arrived, and I guess I never will. I hope I never have to sit there Christmas Eve like my father did knowing that he couldn't do anything or as much as he wanted for his kids at Christmas. That is the scariest part for me about being a parent. I never want my child to go without. I do see though, that a good parent can make you not realize you are going without, and I love my Dad for that. One day I will tell him. It all came together for me a few months later. It became a little more clear the day we came home from school and summer holidays had started, and my dad told us all to get in the car. He took out his VISA, packed up the car, and we drove to Disneyland. We had the best time of our lives for those two weeks. It took him years to pay that trip off I bet, but he did it for us. Thats my Dad...He is a great guy. I hope I can be half the man he is.
It was Christmas Eve. I was probably 11, I don't know for sure. My Dad was the only one working, and this was a Christmas that was going to be bad. (Bad as far as a kid can perceive, Santa wasnt going to be bringing much of anything this year) I learned a few days after Christmas what had happened that night....It was a night that brings me back to KNOWING there is a Santa.
It was late Christmas Eve, and my Dad was sitting up watching TV, all us little kids were in bed, and my mom was dawdling about the apartment. My Dad heard something outside our patio, and saw a guy hiding in the bushes right infront of our place! (One should know, that my father was a rather tough S.O.B so this is not going to go well for this guy) Not one to avoid conflict, my Dad goes out on the patio and says something Christmasy like "Who the fuck is there!?". To which he gets a reply of...."Just go back inside.........please". My Dad recognized the voice, but couldnt immediately place it, and kept on asking who was there. The guy in the bush was pleading with my father to go back inside, and just pretend he heard nothing. This is really not ever going to happen. My Dad is not the type to just let a strange man stand in the bushes outside his patio on Christmas Eve, and let it go. So he presses on, and out from the bushes come my Aunts current boyfriend. He was a good man. He was a stockbroker, and made good money on the Vancouver Stock Exchange. He had taken us out to the PNE and Sesame Street on Ice, and all those things I would never have gotten to do. (Again, these are things I never really wanted to do, or even knew I was missing out on, or would have missed out on. My Dad always made sure I was in soccer, baseball, and anything else I wanted to be in so I thought I was normal) So there is this guy, on Christmas, in the bushes, in Surrey, late at night, and what does he have, but a "sleigh" full of gifts. Sure, it was a black toboggan, the really cool ones with the brakes and everything....but for the sake of the story it is a sleigh. There were toys for all of the three kids in there, and there was some stuff for my parents as well. This guy, was, and is Santa. He wouldn't come in without being prodded by my father. He wanted nothing in return. He just wanted to make my Christmas a little better then what it was going to be. I wish in a way, I was older that Christmas. Old enough to understand what that was really all about. I wish I could have gotten the chance to thank him. (He was later murdered in a bizarre situation involving corruption in the VSE) I don't know if I would have even noticed that Christmas was bad that year had he not arrived, and I guess I never will. I hope I never have to sit there Christmas Eve like my father did knowing that he couldn't do anything or as much as he wanted for his kids at Christmas. That is the scariest part for me about being a parent. I never want my child to go without. I do see though, that a good parent can make you not realize you are going without, and I love my Dad for that. One day I will tell him. It all came together for me a few months later. It became a little more clear the day we came home from school and summer holidays had started, and my dad told us all to get in the car. He took out his VISA, packed up the car, and we drove to Disneyland. We had the best time of our lives for those two weeks. It took him years to pay that trip off I bet, but he did it for us. Thats my Dad...He is a great guy. I hope I can be half the man he is.
posted by Rally at
8:14 PM
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