Rene's Hideaway....actually it is my sanctuary!

A Story from My Childhood

To begin this story it is important to know that I had what I would describe as the perfect childhood. We had all that we needed and a lot of what we wanted. I didn’t find out until I was grown that we suffered through financial hard times while we were children. Our parents never let us see that part of life, in fact, momma told me once that when we had the least amount money to pay our bills and buy food was when she was the most likely to buy us a soft drink and bag of chips that we didn’t really need. Suffice it to say that she never wanted us to feel without and she managed that very well.

The house we grew up in was an old Jim Walters home that my parents had built (the shell only that is) and then they finished the inside as they could. We also lived in the home while we worked on it. My dad will tell you to this day that he has been building this home since 1958 and still is not finished! He is actually telling the truth about that too.

This tells you a little about my beginnings, my life was filled with love and caring parents, this part is vital when you consider the information that I am about to reveal. It shows the level of trust and belief that was in my childlike mind when this all transpired.

On Christmas vacation of 1962 we went to Longview to be with my mothers parents for the holidays. We loved Nanny and Granddad Stokley very much; my brother and I were also their only grandchildren. A little more insight on this story is the fact that my grandfather was dying at this time.

On Christmas Eve, my brother and I went to bed with all the expectations of children. Wonderment at the beauty of it all was uppermost in our minds as we did not understand the gravity of granddads’ situation. Somewhere in the wee
hours of the morning I heard a noise that awoke me. I went to the window to look outside and see where it was coming from. I woke my little brother and brought him to the window with me to see the glorious sight in the sky. We heard reindeer bells jingling and saw sparkling in the sky that surely must have been Santa Clause after making his delivery to our grandparents’ home. The excitement in the air was tangible as we danced around the room with glee. We finally forced ourselves to go back to bed and await momma to come and get us at a decent hour.

We didn’t have long to wait for her appearance either. She came in about 3 a.m. to awaken us with sad news, granddad had passed away in the wee hours of Christmas morning, we cried. I remember this Christmas almost like it was yesterday and I don’t think I will ever forget the feeling of trying to hold back excitement or tears…both came of their accord.

I got a spinning wheel that year from Santa and I when I stayed with one of nanny’s friends during the funeral, her kind and gentle husband taught me how to use it. I made things for my grandmother so maybe she wouldn’t be so sad when she got home; I tried in the only way my 7 year old mind knew how.

As the years have passed and I have gone back over this memory a thousand times I have come to another conclusion about the sighting of Santa on that night, I believe instead that it was my grandfather flying by on trip to heaven. I know that he came to say goodbye to his only two grandchildren before he left this earth. The time written on his death certificate was exactly the same time that we thought we saw Santa. So now you can see why this Christmas remains so vivid and special in my mind to this day.