Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Christmas Cards (11/06/08)
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TITLE: Christmas Is a Heart Thing | Previous Challenge Entry
By Karen Frantz
11/10/08 -
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Ginny and John had always loved the Christmas season. It was a time when the child in them surfaced. They loved the snow and would always build awesome snow people, had outrageous snowball fights and then go inside and warm themselves in front of the fireplace with a big, mug of hot chocolate with lots of fluffy marshmallows billowing on top of the chocolate.
Tears welled up in Ginny’s eyes as she gazed out the frosted window pane, watching the snow falling softly on the frozen ground. This was her first Christmas without John. Her thoughts
took her back six months to the day John left her alone. His health had begun to deteriorate
two years ago with his first heart attack. It had been a major heart attack and had done a lot of damage to his heart. The doctors told them without a heart-transplant he wouldn’t make it.
He never got the transplant and experienced another major heart attack, this one was fatal.
As the tears rolled down Ginny’s cheeks, a slight smile crossed her lips. Thoughts of their last Christmas slipped into her mind. What a glorious time it was. Even though they never had any children to share such a wondrous holiday. They made it the most memorable holiday for themselves.
One of the customs they had adopted was the exchanging of Christmas Cards. Not store-bought cards, but handmade and straight from the heart, cards that expressed their deep and abiding love for each other.
Ginny went to her bedroom and unlocked the lid of a big, old, cedar chest that held her most precious keepsakes. She picked up a shoe-box and slipped the faded red ribbon from the lid that had the words, “Christmas Cards” written in a green marker. As she lifted the lid and gingerly took the stack of cards out of the box, she sat down on the edge of the bed and begin to look at her treasure. She laughed a little and cried a little. But all in all joy filled her aching heart.
Ginny got to her feet and went over to the table, beside the bed, to get a tissue. She was all out of tissues so she opened the small drawer looking for a handkerchief when her eyes spotted an envelope. She picked up the envelope and read the front, “My Darling Ginny” her heart skipped a beat. She nervously, but carefully opened the envelope and slipped a delicate, lacy card that was shaped like a heart out of it’s cover. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she read the sweetest poem expressing John’s deep abiding love for her. It was the last Christmas card from her darling husband. She held it close to her heart and whispered “my darling John.”
At that moment, Ginny realized that “Christmas is a heart thing.”
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