The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1951-12-21
Model for q Family
By Myrtle Worst Sheppard

Bells" and "SiIent Night" begin
emanating from the radio and the
department stores, hear women
complaining of the tiresome task
of shopping. Their complaints al
ways carry me back to the early
years of my married life-to those
years when our budget was always
strained to the breaking point,
when the dollars were so few and
our children's wants were so many.
BY the time Christmas Eve ar
rived, / was almost nervous
wreck-not from shopping, but
from a0dnting to shop. The few
dollars which / had managed to
scrape together for Christmas lux
uries-and they were, indeed, lu':-
uries in our house in those days,
the candies. fruits and toys from
the dime store - were carefully
counted and waiting in the coin
purse of my worn black bag. But
since there were so few of them
TO be spent, my shopping had of
necessity TO be a last minute af-
fair. For it was only by waiting
until Christmas Eve, just before
the stores were ready to close, that
/ could stretch those precious
greenbacks far enough TO cover
everything that the children
1..zaxooJ ca havaf.IIy nf ranaiyino q
on Christmas morning. tree with
colored lights, little socks bulging
with oranges and candy, drum, a
doll, rubber ball.
BY the time John came in from
work on Christmas Eve. was fit
to be tied. Supper was always
waiting on the table when he got
there and we sat down to hur-
ried meal; then / attacked the
dishes and when they were washed
and dried, | flew upstairs to put
the baby to bed. Invariably, it
seemed, just as l got him settled
and was ready to put on my coat
and hat to start out, the phone
rang. | knew without being told
that it was my sister, Emily, call
ing to wish us a merry Christmas
Emily lived on the other side of
town, the fashionable side, where
the women with a great show of
boredom shopped weeks in advance
and tied their packages with wide
silver and gold ribbons that cost
more than all of our Christmas ex-
travagances put together.
THANK YOU" / would say me-
chanically into the phone. Eyes,
I'm sure we'll have a very nice
Christmas" But there was a bitter
ness upon my tongue as / spoke,
and there was very little of the
real Christmas spirit in my heart.
Thinking of Emily as / stepped
out into the night, envy welled up
within me. 1t wasn't fair, l told
myself, for some to have so much
and for others to have SO little.
$50 little so little" / kept re
peating TO myself as / put my foot
on the starter of my husbands bat
tered pickup truck and turned
toward the shopping district.
/ always gave the Christmas-tree
lots the once-over first. Yes, there
was a sign-the sign was looking
for: YOUR CHOICE ANY
TREE NOW soc. Quickly !
pulled into the curb and got out
with my threadbare bag. The chill
dren were never. really happy un-
less the tree touched the ceiling.
Now, at the last minute, for SOC
could buy tree which the day be-
fore would have cost perhaps $500.
The purchase of the tree was al
ways my first triumph of the eve
ming. Once I had it safely in the
back of the pickup, | could relax
for another year from the awfui
fear that some Christmas Eve
there would be no marked-down
trees and our little family would
be left in the cold gray dawn of
Christmas morning without one.
From the tree lot | moved on
down the street to the supermarket
where the Christmas candies and
fruits, sometimes even the dressed
chickens, were reduced for quick
last-minute sale. In the dime store
j found bargains in wrappings and
seals and rihhouS. and il lucky.