The Christmas Save

Carline worked hard at her job at a manufacturing facility in a small town in the South. By end of shift every day, her fingers were sore and her body tired. Her husband was a lazy, no good; well, you get the point. He had quit his job two months before Christmas because he didn't like the way his boss talked to him. Carline wasn't surprised he quit. This had become his standard reaction to any
type of gesture that he didn't like. The concept of people having a bad day once in a while or maybe, just maybe, he wasn't perfect, never entered his mind.


Carline was having trouble sleeping at night. Christmas was four weeks away. With four kids and no money, Christmas was a scary day that was approaching fast. Just trying to pull together enough money to feed the kids, pay the bills, and keep gas in the car was becoming more then she was finding possible. Add Christmas to the list of things to pay for and she was at a loss as how to make that happen.

She didn't talk about her personal life at work, but it was a small town and the rumor mill in the South generally worked overtime. It didn't take long before everyone at work knew that her husband was a bum and she was in financial trouble.

As the weeks went by, she tucked a dollar here and a dollar there into a sock in her dresser drawer. She hoped she would have enough to buy at least two gifts each for the kids from Dollar General by Christmas. She was determined to find a way to make ends meet and still give her kids a bit of a Christmas.

One night she couldn't sleep, so she wrapped herself in the quilt her grandmother had made for her and sneaked to the front porch. As she sat there in the middle of the night, she prayed for a Christmas miracle. Maybe an Angel somewhere would hear her prayer. Maybe the love her grandmother stitched into the quilt would find a way to help her. An hour later, she went back into the house having realized she was completely on her own to make Christmas happen for her children. The worry and responsibility was nearly more than she could bare...until she went into the single bedroom where all four of her children were sleeping. She kissed each one on the forehead and whispered, "I love you Baby" to each one. The rhythmic sound of their sleeping breath was soothing and filled her with resolve. She would give them a good Christmas, that is what Mommas do.

A couple days later, Debbie walked up to her while she worked her station and said, "Hey Carline. I cleaned out my freezer last night to make room for meat I need to buy for the holiday. I have a couple pounds of hamburger that I hate to just throw away. Could you use it? I have it in a cooler in my car hoping to find someone to take it."

"Well, if you are sure you don't need it, I could use it. You know how kids can eat." she tried to hide her embarrassment and her thrill at the possibility of a few extra pounds of hamburger she didn't have to buy.

"I'm sure. Give me the keys to your car and I will put the cooler in your car. Just bring the cooler back to me tomorrow." Debbie said.

"I sure will. Thanks for thinking of me." Carline replied.

"Hey, you taking it means I don't have to keep looking for someone else to take it. You saved me some time and trouble. I will be right back with your keys."

Carline handed over the keys to her car and went back to work. She figured that the extra hamburger would allow her to put two or three more dollars into her sock. She had saved almost enough to give her kids a Christmas.

At the end of her shift, she headed out to her car with a spring in her step she had not felt for weeks. She unlocked and opened the driver's door and the interior light flooded the car with light. She couldn't believe what she saw. The car was filled with coolers and shopping bags. She began opening the coolers and bags. There were fresh vegetables, meat, and fruit in the coolers. The bags contained toys and clothes for the kids. Tears ran down her cheeks as she looked through all the wonderful gifts that had been left for her. The driver's seat was the only unoccupied space in the car.

She cried as she drove home. Tears of joy and of humiliation. The contents of her car proved that the world knew she was in trouble, but it also proved people cared.

It took her nearly two hours to put away all the food and hide all the gifts. She again retreated to the front porch wrapped in her grandmother's quilt. She knew that more people then just Debbie were responsible for the food and gifts. How was she ever going to repay them for their kindness?

When she arrived at work the next day, she asked Debbie about all the food and gifts. Debbie insisted she had only put a small cooler with a few pounds of hamburger in her car, but her smile told a different story. No one would admit they had helped. She just wanted to thank those responsible, but she couldn't figure out who to thank. When she talked to another co-worker, Mike, about it, the words he said brought everything into focus for her.

"Carline, no one did anything for you that you wouldn't have done for them. Christmas is a time to give without expectation of receiving. Don't question why people care, appreciate that you have people around you who believe in being kind and giving. Merry Christmas my friend, my sister."

This happened to me the Christmas of 1995. So many years later and so many miles between us now, Mike and many of the others are still my friends. They didn't just save Christmas for my kids...they saved me.
~Carline