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Daddy/Santa Claus
There's a certain radio personality who asked people to write in letters about their favorite holiday memories. My sister decided to write in about something that happened several years ago, that affected our whole family (in a very good way). Then she had me edit/revise it, which means it's written by both of us. I'll warn you now, it's super sappy, and not the best writing, but you'll have to forgive us -- we were both bawling the entire time we worked on it. If you knew my dad, this would be a lot more striking to you...
Hi _________,
I just wanted to share my favorite holiday memory with you. I still tear up every time I think of this wonderful Christmas a few years ago. I was in high school, and like every Christmas morning, my siblings and I had to drag our exhausted parents out of bed, as it had only been a couple of hours since they'd gone to sleep. At first it seemed to be just like every other year. Our stockings were stuffed with small gifts and goodies, and there were plenty of presents under the tree... But there was one thing that was different: each of our stockings had a white envelope sticking out of them. My brother and sisters and I curiously opened the envelopes to find a letter from "Santa" inside. In the letter, he apologized for not being able to give us as many gifts as usual and explained what had happened.
Our dad -- I mean, Santa Claus -- is a retired policeman who was working different security jobs at the time. One particular place Santa had been working at was a grocery store, and as he stood at the entrance to that store, he had seen many needy families unable to pay for their groceries, Christmas gifts, etc. It broke his heart to see these people struggling just to buy the necessities and maybe a few little extras to make their holidays happy. Santa explained that while he couldn't afford to give them all the kind of Christmas he would've liked for them to have, he'd done what he could by paying for their groceries or slipping them a few dollars with a jolly handshake and a wish for them to have happy holidays as they were leaving. As a result, he continued, he'd been unable to afford to buy our family quite as many gifts as we usually received.
As we sat in our living room that Christmas morning, we all had tears streaming down our faces thinking about the wonderful generosity and quiet humility of this man, our "Santa Claus". Our father's never really been very good with words. Expressing himself in such a way doesn't come easy to him. Somehow, though, as Santa, he'd crafted one of the most beautiful and touching letters ever written -- completely genuine, simple in its purpose, and so filled with love for us and for others that it has stuck with each of us children ever since. I honestly don't remember a single thing I opened that Christmas besides that letter. I don't think any of us do, and yet it was probably the richest, most gratifying holiday we'd ever spent together. We really were able to feel the true spirit of Christmas thanks to that reminder from Santa of what matters most in life.
I'm so very grateful for the wonderful example that my parents have set for our family. Their loving kindness and leadership are the best gifts they could ever have given us.
Sincerely,
Bethany [my sister's last name here]
Honestly, I think this is when my respect for my father really began to grow into what it is now: a huge mass of emotional awe for everything he is and has done and continues to do for people, both his family/friends and complete strangers. And I love and respect my mom just as much, because she would've done the same thing, and completely supported my dad in his choice. We pretty much all knew that about my mom already... but I think our whole family learned a lot about our dad that year. He spent many years being the tough cop, hiding his soft heart beneath the tough exterior. Now we know better... and it's awesome. : )
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