All I want for Christmas

Jessica Ellenhart was only six years old that late November morning --- the day she went to see Santa Claus. She had recently moved from the small town of Willington in Upstate New York, where her cat would chase mice around her basement, to Orlando, Florida, where mice, of course, were praised for another reason.



To the commoner, a young child living in the land of dreams and the innocence surrounding Walt Disney World, it would have seemed as though a girl, like Jessica, would be in Heaven. Jessica, however, was very unhappy. She missed her Grandma.



Two weeks before her family had moved to Florida, Jessica’s Grandmother, Ruthie, passed away. Ruthie had been a simple woman, but she was someone to whom Jessica turned for sugar cookies and hugs, laughter and love. Now, although one thousand miles away from New York, it seemed as though she was a million miles from the place she longed to be --- near her Grandmother, yet again.

While families were joining together for the Thanksgiving holiday, Jessica and her parents were finishing their unpacking from the move. There was no turkey, no stuffing, no pumpkin pie, and very little time for laughter and family. Delores, Jessica’s Mother, was slated to begin her job as a stock broker the following Monday; therefore, everything along the lies of turning their simple two bedroom apartment into a home needed to be rushed to fruition.

Having planned no Thanksgiving dinner, Delores decided to order sandwiches from the local sub shop and she invited her daughter to accompany her on the trip to pick them. The sub shop was adjacent to the local shopping mall and outside the entrance, there was a long line. The line to visit the Mall Santa had grown beyond what the Mall’s enclosure could handle. Like any child, Jessica pleaded to see Santa and despite the line and her need to do other things, Delores, like any Mother, granted her daughter’s request.

Nearly two hours passed before Jessica arrived to the front of the line; yet, her time in line had allowed for much thought in regards to what she wanted for Christmas. When she was finally seated on Santa’s lap, no one believed what she had to say. Santa asked the little girl for her Christmas wish and Jessica said, “I want to see my Grandma.”

As Delores and Jessica traveled back to their home with their Thanksgiving sandwiches, Delores was stunned by her daughter's request and worried that Jessica would be disappointed that Christmas. After all, despite how much we might miss our loved ones, we will not see them again until we enter Heaven --- something that, for Jessica, was many years away. It had been quite obvious that Jessica had wanted her Christmas wish to be true, sooner rather than later. Santa had promised Jessica that he would do his best and Delores, deep in her heart, hoped he could provide this miracle for her precious little one.

A month of prayers and wishes passed and when Christmas morning arrived, a sleepy Jessica sat in front of her Christmas tree, tearing into box after box with no sign of her Grandmother. By 8 o’clock Christmas morning, it looked as though Santa had been unable to grant her special wish. Then, Jessica opened her last package.

The package was a simple box, wrapped in gold-colored paper with a bow as white as an angel’s wings. When Jessica looked inside the box, she saw her Grandmother, in the form of a five-by-seven inch photograph. Jessica held the picture close to her heart and then, noticed a note that had been placed beneath it. The note read:

“Jessie, my sweetheart....

I love you, though I’m far away
My heart is with you, every day
I send this hug with arms unfurled
You are my special little girl.”

Love,

Grandma

From that moment forward, Jessica Ellenhart was no longer sad. She realized that not only was her Grandmother always by her side, even if only in spirit, she also knew deep in her heart that the treasures for which we yearn most will come true, if only we believe.
By Jill Eisnaugle