I've been seeing some really neat, "awwwwwwwwww" stories in other threads, and thought it would be cool to start a thread to share those stories.
I'll start with this Christmas in my family:
Some background: My mother came from a very, very small town but moved to the "city" when she and my dad got married. (I know not much in SC qualifies as "city", but you work with what you have
) Her siblings and parents all remained in the small town. As kids, we had a bit of a superiority complex about our country cousins. Additionally, my mom's family had a lot of really, really bad issues which affected me and my siblings, including alcoholism, mental illness, suicide, sexual abuse, etc. And there have been many family feuds and people not speaking to each other for years, etc.
As adults, we have lost touch with a lot of our cousins. The last time I saw most of them was at my grandmother's funeral in 2004.
So, anyway, this year has been really stressful and difficult for me, my brother and my sister. We've all had multiple medical problems to deal with, either our own or children's. But my sis has had the worst time. Long story short: abusive 23 year marriage (that we didn't realize was SO bad) ended after escalating violence. She lived in hiding for 3 months and is now in an apartment provided by her church. She's trying to put together the pieces of her life, which is difficult when you've basically been a prisoner in your home. There is, obviously, very little money. She has 5 kids and has not worked outside the home in over 20 years. It's been difficult, to say the least, to find a job.
One of our "country cousins" decided to play Santa, and enlisted her sister and brother and several other cousins. They have purchased gifts for my sister and all of the kids. And they don't want the kids to know where it came from. The cousin who came up with the idea said, "I just want them to know Santa didn't forget them when they moved this year."
I can't wait until they wake up on Christmas. The older 2 kids (17 boy and 14 girl) have told my sister they understand Christmas won't be much. They told her to spend the money she has on the little ones (10, 8 and 5 yo boys) They will be so surprised. And I just think it's so sweet that our cousins wanted to do this for them.
So, let's hear from the rest of you. I love sappy Christmas stories!
Holly
I'll start with this Christmas in my family:
Some background: My mother came from a very, very small town but moved to the "city" when she and my dad got married. (I know not much in SC qualifies as "city", but you work with what you have
) Her siblings and parents all remained in the small town. As kids, we had a bit of a superiority complex about our country cousins. Additionally, my mom's family had a lot of really, really bad issues which affected me and my siblings, including alcoholism, mental illness, suicide, sexual abuse, etc. And there have been many family feuds and people not speaking to each other for years, etc. As adults, we have lost touch with a lot of our cousins. The last time I saw most of them was at my grandmother's funeral in 2004.
So, anyway, this year has been really stressful and difficult for me, my brother and my sister. We've all had multiple medical problems to deal with, either our own or children's. But my sis has had the worst time. Long story short: abusive 23 year marriage (that we didn't realize was SO bad) ended after escalating violence. She lived in hiding for 3 months and is now in an apartment provided by her church. She's trying to put together the pieces of her life, which is difficult when you've basically been a prisoner in your home. There is, obviously, very little money. She has 5 kids and has not worked outside the home in over 20 years. It's been difficult, to say the least, to find a job.
One of our "country cousins" decided to play Santa, and enlisted her sister and brother and several other cousins. They have purchased gifts for my sister and all of the kids. And they don't want the kids to know where it came from. The cousin who came up with the idea said, "I just want them to know Santa didn't forget them when they moved this year."
I can't wait until they wake up on Christmas. The older 2 kids (17 boy and 14 girl) have told my sister they understand Christmas won't be much. They told her to spend the money she has on the little ones (10, 8 and 5 yo boys) They will be so surprised. And I just think it's so sweet that our cousins wanted to do this for them.
So, let's hear from the rest of you. I love sappy Christmas stories!
Holly
