Issue 1:
Toy
Elizabeth Desimone
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Toy
My mother didn't have money for toys after my father died, nor did she think them necessary.
After Christmas vacation the kids I knew would return to school with a new plaid dress or some toy they bragged about.
One Christmas, when I was in fifth grade, my mother took me to J.C. Penney's downtown and I chose a $2.98 red and blue wool hat. The hat tied under the chin and was a warm, quality hat. Mama wrapped it in Christmas paper and that was my only present.
I dreaded the first day back at school. Sure enough the question came, "What did you get for Christmas?" Richer kids got things like radios, sleds, or bicycles. One friend received pajamas, new sweaters, books and toys each Christmas. I said I got a radio and hoped no one would ask the particulars. I couldn't bear to say, "This hat is my present," and "I even knew what it was because I picked it out."
I've forgiven my mother now, for never buying me a toy. She did her best. But I make sure I buy my own daughter something not necessary each Christmas.
~Elizabeth Desimone
Elizabeth is currently writing her second book, "Growing Up Italian in Seattle." Email.
© 1999 by Elizabeth Desimone. All Rights Reserved.
© 2000-2002 by Cayuse Press. All Rights Reserved.
This page updated April 23, 2002.