A Christmas Wish List

Dear Santa,

It’s me, Sarah Michelle Klein. I turned seven this year. I don’t know if I’ve been a good girl this year or not, Santa. I don’t do well in school. My grades are bad but I try as hard as I can. Daddy would yell at me every night and wouldn’t let me play with the other kids. I would do my homework until bedtime trying to get it right, just to get more bad grades. I also get into fights sometimes because the other kids are mean to me for not being as smart as them or for the clothes I wear. This makes daddy even madder. He spanks me. Daddy got so tired of me that he left and moved in with a woman named Samantha and her son Freddy. Now mommy is sad, and my sister Nikki is sad, and I’m really sad because it is all my fault. So, this year for Christmas, I want to ask that you give the people who were nice presents.

Mommy is the best. When kids made fun of my clothes, she took me and Nikki out shopping so we could pick out stuff that made us feel pretty. I got new jeans, some t-shirts, and some very pretty sweaters. Kids stopped making fun of my clothes after that. When daddy sent me to bed without supper, mom would sneak something in for me to eat. That would help me concentrate on my school work and get some sleep. She also took us places like the park and Aunt Phoebe's house where we could play with our cousins Charlie and Emma. Now mommy lies around the house and cries. She doesn’t get dressed in the morning and she hasn’t cleaned the house in a long time. I’d like her to have something that will help her feel pretty again. Maybe some earrings, a necklace, or new clothes.

Nikki is only four. She is really sad. She was daddy’s favorite. He would play tea with her and when we went on family bike rides he would pull her behind him in a cart. He called her his special little passenger. She cries a lot and asks when daddy’s coming back. She throws tantrums and demands daddy’s attention. I can’t blame her. I’d watch them playing outside while I tried to figure out my homework and mom cooked dinner. They were real close. For the most part she has been good. She’s learning to be good. Mom calls it adjusting. I try to play with her as much as I can to keep her mind off things. For her I want her to have her first little girl bike. Something pink with a basket. Or purple, I think that’s her favorite color.

Aunt Phoebe has tried to be there for mommy, Nikki, and me. She has come over to the house and made us dinner and cleaned up the house a couple of times. She also baked cookies with us and decorated our tree with us making it fun. Sometimes she says mean things about daddy, but I think that is because she hurt her sister so much, not because she’s bad and should get a present. While we decorated the tree, Aunt Phoebe put on music and we sang and danced. I think for her, I would like her to have one of those karaoke machines (that is what mommy says they are called). Maybe she can get mommy to sing and dance with us. Mommy used to love to sing and dance.

Charlie needs a new basketball. He is ten and plays on a team at school. Did you know he can dribble between his legs? He can do what he calls a lay-up and never miss. He and uncle Dale play in the driveway all the time. They have their own hoop. They are teaching me and Nikki. Nikki is so little that Uncle Dale has to pick her up so she can throw the ball in. It is really fun and we forget about daddy when we go over there and play. Charlie plays all the fun games like hide-and-seek and tag with us. He’s really fast. His shoes are getting old though. Maybe get him some shoes too.

Emma is seven, just like me. She is my best friend. We ride bikes together. Play dolls together. Pretend to be super heroes together. Play on the swings together. And we tell each other jokes. Uncle Dale built us a club house this year. It’s a magical fort and no boys are allowed. It has a window and Emma made a curtain for it and there is a shelf that we put our treasures on that we find in the woods, like feathers and pretty rocks. She wants a trampoline. That is a really big gift. Maybe get it for both her and Charlie? Or she wants a princess pop-star watch like mine.

I do not know what to ask for Uncle Dale. He likes to build things and is always fixing things. He comes over and fixes things for mommy now that daddy is gone. Mommy hates to ask him. She feels really bad, but Uncle Dale says he doesn’t mind. One time our dishwasher flooded the kitchen and mommy didn’t know who else to call. Uncle Dale was here for hours and he got it fixed. He is really good at that stuff. I do not know anything about tools, but maybe you can get him some for Christmas. I’m sure you know what he has.

Has daddy been good? He has made a lot of people sad. I still love him and want him to have a present. Daddy likes football. He watches it on TV all the time while drinking his beer. He says he used to play football. Maybe you can get him tickets to a game. Maybe he will take me and Nikki and we will have hot dogs and soda and have lots of fun. 

I must be really bad because I don’t want Samantha and Freddy to get anything. Samantha is nice to me, but she is not my mom and tries to be. I don’t like that. Freddy is ten like Charlie, but not as nice. He yells at Nikki and me if we touch his stuff and he always makes fun of us and makes us cry.

For me, if you can ask daddy to please come home and tell him that I won’t get in any more fights and that I will try extra hard at school, that would be the best present ever. I miss him even though he was always mad at me. I love him and just want to curl up in his arms and fall asleep like I used too.

Merry Christmas

Sarah Michelle Klein