Our Pennies Made all the Difference

Inspirational, , , , ,

Many years ago, when I was making 75 cents an hour, my three children asked for bicycles for Christmas, but I couldn’t afford them.

So that January, I put three bikes on layaway. I paid all through the year, but a week before Christmas, I still owed $14.50. The Saturday before Christmas, my son Ricky asked how much I needed. When I told him, he asked if he could pour the pennies out of the penny jug we kept.

I said, “Son, I don’t care, but I know there’s not $14.50 worth of pennies in there.”

Ricky poured them out, counted them, and said, “Mom, there’s $15.50 worth of pennies.” Ecstatic, I told him to count out $1 for gas so I could go get the bikes.

I’ve always thought of this as our little Christmas miracle. It was as blessed a Christmas as anyone could ever have. —Dot Williams, Canton, Georgia.

As told in the Readers Digest

Santa Found us on the Road

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At Christmastime, in 1961, our family was on the way from Seattle to a new assignment on the East Coast, and we checked into a motel in Watertown, South Dakota. It was not the best time to travel with young children, who were concerned about Santa finding us on the road.

We headed into town to find a store, and as our car approached an intersection, there was a Santa right in the crosswalk! He held up his hand for us to stop, and we rolled down our windows.

Santa poked his head through a window and said to our kids, “Oh, there you are! I was wondering where I’d find you tonight.”

Naturally, the kids were thrilled to pieces. They made sure we told Santa which motel we were staying at so he could find them. My wife and I had tucked away gifts for the trip, as we knew we wouldn’t have time to shop along the way.

The cartop carrier and out-of-state license plate might have been a giveaway, but whatever it was, that Santa really made Christmas 1961 a memorable one for our kids. —Dave Grinstead, Bellingham, Washington.

As told in the Readers Digest

Hugs

Better Living, Inspirational, , , , , , ,

 

It’s wondrous what a hug can do.
A hug can cheer you when you’re blue,
A hug can say, “I love you so,
Or, “Gee, I hate to see you go,”
A hug is – welcome back again,”
“Great to see you! Where’ve you been?”
A hug can soothe a small child’s pain 
And bring a rainbow after rain, 
The hug! There’s just no doubt about it 
We scarcely could survive without It!
A hug delights and warms and charms.
It must be why God gave us arms.

Hugs are great for fathers and mothers,
Sweet for sisters, swell for brothers,
And chances are your favorite aunts
Love them more than potted plants!
Kittens crave them, puppies love them
“Heads of State” are not above them, 
A hug can break the language barrier, 
And make your travels go much merrier,
No need to fret about your store of them
The more you give, the more there’s more of them
So stretch those arms without delay 
And give someone a HUG – Today!!

I am going through some of my moms things and miss her deeply.
I found this poem about hugs.