Wednesday, December 10, 2008

A Christmas Sled



As I mentioned in a recent post, my brother was a member of the Army Signal Corps during World War II. His two best buddies were, one in the Navy and the other in the Marine Corps. Thankfully, all three came home in one piece. Just having them all home again was Christmas present enough that year.

I must have been eleven or twelve that Christmas. Some years earlier, my mother, brother and I had moved into a second floor apartment. Mother and I had twin beds and shared the big master bedroom, and Bill had his own room - briefly. We had only been there about a year when the war began, and Bill was on his way to a four year stint in the armed service. That meant that I had my own room for four years. I was so happy to see him come home
that I didn't really mind too much giving it up again for a while, until he was married.

I'm not sure how it happened that on Christmas Eve I was sleeping alone in the back bedroom again, but that's how it happened. Mother and Bill did much whispering together all day. Apparently there was something special for me in the works! And that is how it happened that I saw their surprise. I did not go to sleep as early as they thought. When my brother went down to the basement of the apartment house and carried the new sled up the fire escape, he had to pass the back bedroom window, and I saw it. This was a very big deal to me at the time! I had wanted this particular sled for ages, and there was plenty of snow t
hat year. There were still shortages of one thing or another because of the war. I guess the metal runners made it hard to get or something. It was all I could do not to bounce out of bed, but I managed to wait until morning and to act surprised when I saw it under the tree. What's more, there was also a pair of ice skates to go with it! They were another still-hard-to-get item. That was a really, really good Christmas!

15 comments:

pink dogwood said...

I really enjoyed reading this post - thanks for sharing

Dawn Fine said...

What a great story. thanks...

Lisa said...

Awwww. That's so sweet. I bet you did not sleep well or much that night. How exciting for you!

Judy said...

Great post. I don't know how you stayed in that bed all night and did not get up to get those great presents! Loved it.

me ann my camera said...

Bobbie, I remember those sleds with the steel runners. How wonderful were those Christmases when you found your heart's desire under the tree!!

I did a post in November showing a picture of me and my sled when I was probably around ten or so. I had to improvise a bit with photo editing and jog my memory with the landscape, but it is here.
http://ancestrallinks.blogspot.com/2008/11/winter-memory-for-one-single-impression.html

bobbie said...

Thanks so much for sending me to your blog, Ann. Don't know how I missed that one. Just busy on Thanksgiving I guess. I'm glad I got a chance to see it today. Wonderful post and picture!

nonizamboni said...

I loved this story! A new sled AND skates. Life is good. Thanks for the memories.

kenju said...

Nice memories, Bobbie. I recall finding out about presents early and then having to act surprised, too.

Anonymous said...

Awww...that was so sweet! You know, I never got a sled for Christmas. Ever. Of course, living in southern California, I guess there wasn't much need for it! But..it would have been nice to get one and some snow, too!

Sylvia K said...

What a lovely story! Thank you for sharing it! I could almost feel your excitement as I read, such a fun story for the season.

Kay said...

Thank you for sharing your story, Bobbie. It made me happy just to imagine your delight. Your mom and brother loved you very much!

Marla said...

Cool story. I never remember a time when I knew what I was getting for Christmas!

Arija said...

Loved yor story, but you still feel a little guilty that you peeked all those years ago. Don't, it was not as though you had crepr into the cellar to search. I am so glad your brothers made it safely through the war.
Have a very happy Christmas.

Unknown said...

It would be nice if parents still thought of sleds and skates as perfect gifts for children. Some may still but being a teacher mostly what I hear is that the kids have asked for video games and upgraded game systems.

Your nostalgic posts always serve to remind me of the value of simpler things. Thank you.

KG said...

I LOVE your posts about the past. They're my favorites.

I remember the Christmas when my uncle gave me this thing called the "Spell and Count Computer." It wasn't really a computer - it was a stone age piece of equipment compared to toys now. But I just thought it was the greatest thing I'd ever seen. I played with it for HOURS and HOURS and I even remember decorating it with stickers. *nostalgic sigh*