A full bar ditch and a stagecoach with horses

Finally, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in our house as well. We spend all weekend long decorating the house inside and out and we put up our Christmas tree. 

There are no presents under our tree, because like every year, we decided not to give each other presents. That however will change in a few days, when one of us will break the rule. One of us will find something that is just “perfect” for the other one and then, once again we will decide to bend the rules just for one more year.

I have a few ideas what I could get for my husband, but nothing really exciting that would make his eyes sparkle. Well, there is always the new cordless drill at a local hardware store, just in case I can’t come up with anything else.

I could ask him what he wants, but that’s pretty much a waste of time, because I know the answer, “I really don’t need anything,” is the standard from both of us and it’s true, because the main things, we need or want, we just buy during the year.

Still, I wanted to come up with something special. We were watching a Christmas movie last night and my mind started to wander off -as so often. “Honey, what was your all time favorite Christmas present ever?” I asked and to my surprise he took the remote and stopped the TV.

Getting my husband to stop the TV is big, now I was curios what he would say. In all these years, I have never asked that question. “You don’t have to pick something that I gave you,” I added and he quickly replied, “I won’t.” (Bummer)

“A Wells Fargo stagecoach with all the horses, that was the best Christmas present ever,” and I liked the smile on his face. “She gave me that for Christmas, because she knew I wanted it so much. I don’t know how Mom did it, but it looked brand new and it had all the horses,” he added and I didn’t say anything, because I could feel that there was more.  “I played every day with it, but I had to share and they broke it,” he said and I knew he was talking about his little brothers. 

“Then one year, I think it was a year later, she got me JFK’s PT 109,” and he leaned back in his chair and I could see that he was taking a walk back on memory lane.

I had no clue what he was talking about. “She gave you what?”

“John F. Kennedy’s PT 109 boat; she gave me JFK’s boat for Christmas.” My husband was born 1959, so he must have gotten the boat in the mid 60th, a few years after JFK’s assassination.

“Every time it rained I sneaked outside and looked in the bar ditch behind our house. I was always hoping for more rain, so the ditch would fill up with water and I could play with my boat.” 

This were his favorite toys when he was a child. My husband doesn’t talk often about his childhood very often, they were poor…dirt poor. His Father left the family, when all the kids were little, so he and his four siblings were raised by a single Mother. Money was tight, the family lived in housing projects and many presents came from generous neighbors. 

My husband doesn’t talk about his childhood, because he didn’t like many things that happened back then.

My Mother-in-law passed away many years ago. I hope that she knew how much the presents had meant to my husband, when he was just a little boy. My husbands eyes sparkle when he laughs and when something brings joy into his heart.  I hope she was looking and I hope she saw then, what I saw yesterday.

Now I have to look at eBay if I can find a vintage stagecoach. Wish me luck~!