Childhood Story

One day close to Christmas my mother asked me “what do you want for Christmas Tessa.”
This was the first time I had ever been asked this question in my entire life usually I got what I got and love it or hate it I could do nothing about the outcome of gift giving.
There were six of us in the house. My sister Candice, Myself, Nicole my bratty younger sister (keep your toys and anything you like away from her), there was Valery, Kevin my only brother who got blamed for everything) and Jodie the baby who never got blamed for anything (cause Kevin always took the fall). Candice and I being the eldest took care of my younger sisters. This is not to say we waited on them hand and foot, far from it, we were all highly independent children who knew how to help out and take care of ourselves. The two eldest mostly just looked around made sure everyone was behaving themselves, that is unless we wanted to have fun. Candice was usually reading and I was usually bossing them all around (something they later came to detest me for in later years as broody teenagers). The Year I turned twelve my mother asked me for the first time in my life “Tessa what do you want for Christmas,” I was aghast, astounded (yes I did know words like this back then) and thrilled I get to choose, oh my goodness. What! No more hunting around the house to get a peak of where the presents were no wondering and hoping I was thrilled, It is only now as an adult I would not want to take that idea magic away from my daughter, surprises are very cool. At the time I felt very grown up.
“I have no idea mummy” I said. “Can I think about it.”
“Sure Tessa but tell me soon I am going shopping on Thursday”
Thursday rolled around and my mom had her Christmas shopping day from work. A day in which she packed all her shopping needs from presents for everyone to food and decorations. She worked as an Office Co-ordinator for Windjammer Landing Hotel from Monday to Saturday and had Sunday’s off which as everyone knows back then was no good for shopping, (the world was not what it is today when I was a child).
“Candice do you wanna come with me.” My mother asked.
“Mummy why does Candice always get to go with you, I am tired of staying home with Valery, Kevin and Jodie.” Note that I excluded my sister Nicole we were not on good terms which was very common. “I want to come”
“I don’t think so Tessa, Candice can help me out more.”
“No she can’t I am bigger than her” My elder sister was always bigger than me but since becoming a preteen and into our teenage years she seems to have stopped growing and gaining weight while I continued to do both at this time I was about 2 inches taller than her a gap which would widen in the future. Me leaving her at a mere 4 ft9 inches and me at 5 ft 6 inches. “Please mummy, please mummy I never get to go with you.” This is not true Candice and I took turns going to the Supermarket and local market with my mum to help her carry bags but I wanted it to be true now.
“Whow, mummy let her go, its okay.” My sister was a gentle soul and indulged us usually giving us what we wanted if we talked long enough, she hated to fight, unlike Nicole. Its not that I did not love her its that she along with Valery, Kevin and Jodie were like little pests I had to take care of. They never left me alone. I used to chase them away. Which later proved to me that if you chase long enough they go away. When Nicole got older she won all of them over with money and gifts, but only for a little while. I think we are all too close now much to close oh gosh much much to close.
“Yaaaaaaaaaa” I ran from the room to get dressed as quickly as I could being a second child I rarely got what I wanted from my mother so I was not letting this opportunity pass me by (even though Candice was dressed already). For some reason during this year I had begun to feel very close to my mother I wanted to hang around her more and wanted more attention something which proved difficult with five sisters and one very unassuming brother.
First place me and my mum went was the toy store. “Wow these are really expensive, I don’t think I can afford much this year. Help me out Tessa do you think Valery will like this doll.”
“Yes mummy, she wanted a Barbie right.”
“I think so, not sure Nicole wanted.”
“I don’t know mummy get her anything.”
“Ok lets see this is nice.” My mother picked up roller skates.” You guys can all share this”
“No mum we all have different sized feet.” I said laughing. I knew my mum was joking us sharing anything was a huge joke. We already shared too much our rooms and my mum and sometimes, lots of times our clothes.
“So what do you want Tessa.”
“I dunno mum, A Teddy Bear.” I new that things were tough this year. There had been no Christmas bonus, my mum told us almost everything or maybe I had heard this when she was talking to my Grandmother. She sometimes went to my grandmother when things got hard. I loved my grandmother she never let my mother leave her house without tons of food in a bag.
“A Teddy Bear, that’s all are you sure”
“Yes” I said while hoping for more. “That’s all, as a matter of fact, I want this one, this Bear.” It was a little fuzzy brown bear with black eyes.
“Okay we will see”
We went on to do the shopping we bought a remote controlled car for Kevin and some toys for Jodie. For Candice my mother bought her, her first dairy which I would later read several times since we shared a room, she kept changing the hiding place though.
We got home and my mum told me to keep quiet and not say a word.
“What did you buy.” Candice asked me.
“Nothing” I said and kept saying nothing till Christmas.
I did not participate in the hunts for the Gifts. I knew where they were I enjoyed having a secret with my mum too much to think about what my sisters and Kevin wanted. I did not breathe a word of what anyone had gotten. But the wait to see their faces proved to be almost unbearable (I wonder if this is where my love for gift giving at Christmas originated form).
We got together as usual, Candice, Nicole and I to buy my mum a gift and a card on which we signed everyone’s name. We had been doing this since I was about nine first it was me and Candice then Nicole joined in, a tradition we continue to this day with everyone pitching in to buy my mum a gift on Christmas and birthdays.
On the night before Christmas as is our tradition we stayed up as late as we wanted. The youngest usually fell asleep first. This year Candice and I helped our mum to lay out the gifts already wrapped then we dozed off in front of the TV together. My last thought was.
I had not ever seen what my mother had bought me, wonder what it will be.
We got up at the crack of dawn and all rushed to the little Christmas tree. Everyone started opening presents ripping paper and playing with toys. Toys everywhere screams deafening. Candice loved her dairy and Nicole loved her skates (good thing we were the same size) Valery played with her doll and other toys all day and Jodie was trying to get Kevin’s car away from him having abandoned her own for something more fun. I looked at the remaining packages and saw the one with my name on it, it was small and soft. Opened it and there was the bear I told my mum I wanted. I wanted to cry, but in looking on the faces of my sisters, I thought if by having only one gift they get more I don’t mind.
“Do you like it Tessa.”
“Yes mummy its nice” and it was a nice bear. I was bitterly disappointed however. I never actually thought my mother would give me only a bear for Christmas. Wow talk about clueless. I thought she would put something with it.
I slept with that soft brown bear every night from then on through battles with my sisters which I won mostly. Through my teenage years and it stayed on my dresser through some of my adulthood. Though I was disappointed I cherished it because before this all of my stuffed toys had been previously owned by my sister Candice who was loathe to give them up and usually stole them back if Nicole or Valery did not get to them first. So I did love it and even handed it down to my daughter who plays with it all the time.