Jimmy’s Christmas Wish
c2004, 2006 Vikki L. Jeanne Cleveland

He looked in the window, then looked in his hand ~
Not nearly enough there for what he had planned.
His eight-year-old face showed the wisdom of years ~
From a heart overflowing with pain and with tears.
His father, you see, had died in the spring,
And now it was Christmas, and this one would bring
To Jimmy’s young mother more worry and woe,
From too many bills from the too much they owed.
Amid all their sadness at this time of year
When others were smiling and full of good cheer,
Jimmy remembered the times when his dad
Would shiver and shake when the winters were bad,
And now Jimmy worried his dad would be cold,
So he walked to the store where the blankets were sold.
He picked out a red one ~ his dad had liked red ~
But then at the checkout, the lady had said,
“You don’t have enough ~ now quit wasting my time ~
There’s nothing to buy for your dirty ol’ dimes.”
So Jimmy went home ~ his mom was asleep ~
She worked a lot lately, so Jimmy would keep
Himself very quiet ~ she needed her rest.
He tried every day to do his very best ~
The best of behavior a young boy could do,
For he feared that somehow he’d lose his mother, too.
From his window he saw on the sidewalk below
The cold winter day would be ending with snow.
He thought of his dad and how cold it had been,
And young Jimmy knew before his day could end,
He had to do something to help out his dad.
Then he noticed the Mickey Mouse blanket he had ~
The one that his Grammy had made just for him
With his name at the top and the Goofys for trim ~
The one he loved most when he snuggled real tight
With his mom and his dad as they kissed him good night.
But with his dad now in Heaven and his mother asleep,
Those kisses were only a memory to keep.
So he folded his blanket beneath his small coat
And quietly left. He walked into the snow ~
He walked and he walked, for the distance was great,
Especially for little boys just barely eight ~
A figure so tiny, surrounded by white ~
A figure determined, alone in the night.
At last he was there where his father now lay ~
No stone yet to mark it ~ just one sad bouquet
Of faded red flowers that his mom and he
Had left for his father on Thanksgiving Eve.
So gently now Jimmy brushed snow off the grave
And spread out his blanket, this gift that he gave,
From his heart to Heaven, with love for his dad
To keep his dad warm when the weather was bad.
He waited awhile; he whispered the words
“I love you” toward Heaven. He hoped his dad heard.
As he turned to head home in the snow and the cold,
There was his mother, arms spread to enfold
Her son who had grown in both wisdom and size.
She wrapped her arms ‘round him as tears filled her eyes.
“Your dad would be proud of this gift that you gave,
But look, Jimmy, now at this snow on the grave ~
This blanket is special and sent from above
From God and the angels to show all their love ~
And love of that kind will keep your daddy warm
On the coldest of days, in the very worst storms.”
Then mother and son ~ and Mickey Mouse, too ~
Went home, and since then this is happily true:
When Jimmy would kneel by his bed for his prayers,
His mother made sure that each night she was there
To tuck her son in with his friend Mickey Mouse
As love once again chased the gloom from their house ~
And though at this Christmas the presents weren’t much,
Their love and their laughter were just the right touch
To remind us all here, both the big and the small,
That love is the most precious gift of them all.

Merry Christmas!