THE CHRISTMAS PRESENT

Evie and Ginny

     It was Rod's and my year to spend Christmas in Virginia with my daughter and her family.  Rod and I had been Christmas shopping and I probably bought books, my favorite gift, for my granddaughters who were six and four years old.  We were in Toys-R-Us and Rod spotted this 2.5 to 3 foot tall Tyrannosaurus Rex and he wanted to buy it.  I kinda looked sideways thinking these are little girls they're not going to want a big ole dinosaur...that's a boy's toy.  He bought it anyway and I tied a bow around it's neck and put it under the tree with their presents Christmas Eve after they'd gone to bed.

Photo taken by Ginny

Ally and Jerome

     Our room was on the bottom floor of Rick's and Robin's three story home.  It was a grand room that had at one time been Rick's home office and we had our own bathroom and we slept on an airbed with a big warm down comforter over us and one under us.  Christmas morning we were awakened when Ginny and Evie came bouncing down the stairs all excited that Santa had come.  "...and there's a DINOSAUR!!"  they both cried out all excited for us to wake up and come upstairs.  My "heart grew three sizes that day".  It was a wonderful Christmas.

     I learned my lesson that year about what a child's heart will love.  That dinosaur has been a guest at tea parties held on the kitchen floor with a tea towel thrown over an upside down basket along with dollies and stuffed animals.

     This fall Rod found the same dinosaur at Toys-R-Us here in California and it now belongs to our thirteen year old granddaughter Ally.  Ally's dinosaur is named Jerome.  Merry Christmas.

 Love, Sandy