圣诞特赦令 A Christmas Morning

As we children grew up just a cornfield away, we visited Grandma anytime. I remember running to her house one day because I was naughty and my mother was upset with me. I don't recall what I did, but my mother took a little branch from the lilac tree in our front yard. I loved the fragrance of those purple flowers but I also knew the sting of a switch on the back of my legs. On that day, Grandma cried along with me and I remembered never to do it again, whatever THAT was.

I remember one Christmas morning while our parents still slept, we sisters quietly went downstairs to see if Santa had come to our tree. We were a poor family and to find presents for us on Jesus' birthday was special. My redheaded sister with freckles was about six years old. Virginia, being the tomboy she was, wanted a football for Christmas. She saw a football under the tree and, in her excitement, forgot where she was. She kicked it flying over the piano, hitting a ceramic rooster of our mother's and breaking it to pieces. Of course, the noise woke our parents and Virginia was so scared that she ran out the door in her pajamas and headed straight for Grandma's house.