Recapturing the Joy of Christmas

Recapturing the Joy of Christmas

by Caissa D. Powell

It was a cloudy, cool afternoon in November and Sean stood outside looking up at the remnants of the basketball hoop in his backyard. As memories flooded back to him, he wiped away a single tear that rolled down his cheek and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. He wanted this year to be different and decided that he would find a way to make this Christmas special. A few hours earlier he had seen his mom at the kitchen table paying bills. His baby sister, Abby, had walked in carrying a magazine with a picture of an almost life size doll that she really wanted for Christmas. The little girl was bubbling with excitement. She had said that she hoped Santa would bring it for her. Sean had also seen his mother’s eyebrows raise as she looked at the ad and had read the price tag. 

The next day at school, Sean stood in the locker room after basketball practice. He looked around the empty room with towels strewn about. He sat down on a bench thinking and then began to pray. “Lord,” he began. “You’ve brought me through a lot and I am so thankful, “ he said. “I know that my family and I don’t need anything, but I’d like your help. I miss my friends.  I feel like I pushed them all away. Will you help me fix that? Please also give me wisdom and direction on how to help my mom and make my sister’s Christmas dreams come true, Amen.” he said.  Sean didn't see Jacob when he walked in or notice that he stood there praying in silent agreement, because his eyes were closed. Jacob had overheard the entire prayer and realized that Sean needed a way to bring back the Christmas magic to his house. He said a prayer himself asking for guidance and a way to reconnect Sean with all their friends. He was touched by Sean’s desire to help his mom and wanting that doll for his little sister. He quietly stepped into one of the shower stalls so as not to disturb Sean. Then he thanked the Lord for listening and quickly slipped out the side door.

When Jacob got home from school that day, his mom and dad, Deborah and James, were in the kitchen. James was seated at the table, glancing between the newspaper and looking up at his wife as she asked him to taste what she was cooking. He smiled broadly and she looked pleased and continued stirring the pot on the stove. They both looked up as their son entered the room. Deborah saw something in her son’s eyes and asked, “What’s wrong Jacob?” as he put his bag on the floor and came to give her a hug. He shrugged his shoulders and slumped into a nearby chair. James asked, “What’s on your mind son?” Jacob told them about Sean. He explained that even though they were still best friends, he hadn’t seen him much since Sean’s dad died last year. He had tried but didn't know what to say. Sean seemed lost in his own world most of the time and barely said a word. But today was different. Jacob told his parents that he’d overheard Sean praying. Sean had said that he missed his friends and that he was sorry for pushing them away. He had prayed for a way to reconnect and also revive the spirit of Christmas in his house. Sean also wanted to be able to help his mom get his little sister a doll that she was crazy about. Deborah looked at her son, smiled and said, “And you’d like to help Sean?” “Yes mom, but I have no idea how. What could I do?” Jacob asked.  James put his arm around his son’s shoulder and said, “I have a feeling we can come up with something if we all work together.” Jacob smiled and hugged his dad.

The next morning, Jacob stood by his bedroom window, which faced Sean’s backyard. As he looked out at the dilapidated basketball hoop, an idea came to him. He and the guys used to hang out at Sean’s house all the time and play ball. If he could get them all together again, it might cheer Sean up. He decided to ask his dad to fix Sean’s backboard and hoop.  Jacob also talked to his parents about wanting to organize a yard work business for the holidays. After a promise to stay on top of his grades and chores, he got the all clear to proceed. 

That afternoon, Jacob walked outside and across to Sean’s house. He knocked and waited. Sean came to the door and looked happy to see him. He invited Jacob in, and over snacks, Jacob explained his business idea. “We could offer to rake and gather the leaves for our neighbors,” Jacob said.  “All of our neighbors have yards and after collecting 8 or 9 bags by early morning, their yards are blanketed again a few hours later. It’s never ending this time of year. With you as my partner, we could get a lot done and could split the profits. We could make some fliers and go door to door offering our services. We could offer multiple shifts, or just clear on a particular day for a flat fee. What do you think?” he asked. A huge, crooked smile crossed Sean’s face. “Sounds like a great plan. Let’s do it.” he said. They got to work designing the fliers and planned to start talking to the neighbors on Saturday.

After Jacob left, Sean smiled to himself. Jacob had been his best friend since grade school and they had remained close. This idea could be an answer to his prayer. He felt like things might be changing for the better. Sean reflected on happier times. Remembering the laughter that used to fill his house when his friends were over. He used to invite friends over a lot. That last basketball game in the backyard was amazing. His dad had joined in on the fun and had slam dunked the ball and broke the backboard. It was incredible. Just like at a professional game, the crowd went wild. Not long after that, his dad had been diagnosed with cancer. His dad had always lived a clean lifestyle and worked out daily. He had volunteered with the fire department for many years, in addition to his job as a banker. But in less than a year, he was gone. Sean tried to be strong for his mother and sister. His mother had returned to work to support the family. They never got the chance to fix the backboard. Playing basketball had not been the same since. Sean would often stand outside with his basketball, looking up at the aluminum frame that had housed the old board. He missed his friends but hadn’t invited anyone over to play. Sean thought about how he could change that. “Maybe after I get the doll, I could save up to get a portable basketball hoop and invite everyone over for a game,” he thought to himself. 

Early that Saturday, Jacob and Sean started knocking on doors. Their neighbors enthusiastically accepted their services immediately. They were also eager to encourage and help young entrepreneurs. As they gathered leaves, Sean told Jacob about the doll that Abby wanted. He said that he had not seen his sister that excited in a long time. He also wondered what he could get his mom. She had always insisted that they didn’t need to get her anything, so he and his father would scour the mall trying to find something special. She was always so appreciative of whatever they brought, before she had even unwrapped it. Then. Jacob said, I’m going to buy the new Play Station 5. Then I’ll invite all of our friends over. They keep asking about you and you won’t invite anyone over. That stops now.” he said as he looked his friend in the eye. Sean said, “oh yeah, okay” with a smirk. They went from house to house and worked until sundown stuffing leaves into bags and tossing them to the curb. They had a real rhythm going. At the end of the day they were exhausted but happy with their progress.

They kept this up for the next few weeks. In their down time, Jacob spent hours searching every store he could think of that might have a PS5, but they were all sold out. His mom had made phone calls and his dad searched online. They all found stores that claimed they had inventory. But when Jacob arrived, he was told that the game system had flown off the shelves within minutes of being stocked. Jacob knew that the gaming system would be in high demand, but he hadn’t expected this. He began to realize that coming up with a gift idea was the easy part — but getting his hands on it was another thing entirely. Even online merchants were on backorder and Jacob was starting to think he might just have to wait until after Christmas.

Meanwhile, Jacob’s dad got to work on repairing the basketball hoop. He’d arranged to stop by Sean’s house while the boys were out, to survey the damage. He found himself reminiscing about playing ball with his dad when he was young and also about teaching Jacob to play. He realized that this was going to be a big job and he knew just who to recruit for reinforcement. He pulled out his cell and called up a few of his fraternity brothers who were more than happy to lend a hand for what promised to be a big, but fun, diy project. One of the men, Mike, pulled up a short while later. He had brought along some cherrywood he had in his garage stacked in the back of his pickup. James and Mike talked and reminisced over college days while they waited for others to arrive. The doorbell rang and to James’ surprise, not only had his other friends arrived, but some of the neighbors were on the porch.  While Sean and Jacob had been hard at work, some of their neighbors had inquired about what led to their business venture. They were inspired by their dreams. They had stopped by to find out how else they could help. As soon as they heard about “operation courtside”, they were all on board. One of the men thought that the cherrywood could work, but said, “if we really want to make an impression, we should use polycarbonate. It’s transparent like glass, but a durable alternative. It’s also easy to saw and drill through. I have some left over from another project. I’ll be right back,” said Eric. When James, Mike and the other neighbors saw the polycarbonate, they agreed that this was a much better upgrade from the original plan to use wood. Just then, James’ friend, Aaron arrived. He had driven to multiple stores before he had located a replacement hoop and net. He had found one at a sporting goods store and had arrived just before closing. He regaled the men with his search as he explained that one store even tried to sell him a hoop without the net. He had remained silent, with an eyebrow raised and just looked at the man. He had agreed that, yes, one could play without a net, but said that they were not trying to recreate the playground of their youth. He had explained that this was a special gift, but the store clerk had appeared clueless. James smiled as he saw the plan coming together as everyone was working together hammering, sawing, painting and drilling. What he had originally thought would be done by three men was now in the hands of over a dozen. James had originally planned to work over the course of a few weekends to keep the surprise a secret until Christmas eve. With the additional help, he realized that this project might easily be completed much sooner.

The next morning, after an early breakfast, Deborah asked Jacob to help her run some errands. It was early and she didn’t want to go shopping alone. Jacob was happy to assist his Mom and they headed out. They arrived at the mall and were waiting in line to snag some Black Friday deals. Deborah looked around and noticed that a few new stores had recently opened. Some were offering limited stock merchandise at deep discount as doorbusters. She and Jacob were fourth in line at one store as they waited for the doors to open and they felt pretty good about their chances of getting some great deals. Deborah also noticed that increased security was in place in anticipation of the crowds. There were new barricades, plexiglass barriers and armed guards positioned in towers overhead. A lot of changes had been implemented to protect customers after recent mayhem. The store owners and the city council had decided to be proactive and take measures to try to keep their town safe during the holiday season.

Finally, the doors opened and the line began to move. Jacob casually walked through the turnstile when it was his turn.  Immediately, alarms sounded and lights flashed. Confetti and balloons dropped from overhead. All to his surprise. Both he and his mom looked at each other puzzled until a camera man and the CEO of the mall stepped forward carrying a microphone and announced that Jacob was the mall’s 1,000,000th customer. The man pointed to a display a short distance away that advertised the prize for the winner - a timed store sweep. He explained that Jacob would win as much as he could fit in his cart and cross the finish line from the store of his choice. Jacob couldn’t stop smiling. He looked around. Across from them was a sign in a department store window that read, “Playstation 5, in stock.” Below that was a picture of a woman wearing a sparkling necklace and hugging her daughter as she held the doll that Abby was so crazy about. Jacob knew immediately where he was headed as he stood smiling for photographs while his mom smiled back at him.

After his sprint through the store, their car was packed to the brim. They had to reorganize some things to fit everything. His mom was amazed that Jacob was able to locate so many items in so little time and cheered as she saw him speeding across the finish line with the overflowing shopping cart. When they arrived home, Deborah backed the car into the garage. James' eyes grew wide as he looked at the back window of the SUV and waited to hear about their day. Jacob climbed out of the car and told his dad about winning the mall promotion. He was rattling off everything that he saw and grabbed and bragged about how those basketball drills that he had hated had paid off today as he had sped through the store with ease. James laughed and congratulated his son. Then he walked him over to take a look in Sean’s back yard. Jacob thought it looked amazing. Jacob knew that Sean was visiting his grandparents. He, his mom and his sister would be back in a few weeks, on Christmas morning.

Sean and his sister had a great time visiting their grandparents. They had opened gifts that morning over breakfast. They had taken family pictures in their matching pajamas. Everyone was upbeat and cheerful. Even Abby managed to be happy despite not getting the doll. She was disappointed, but she was still happy with her other toys. That afternoon, they drove home. Sean and Abby fell asleep along the way and didn’t even realize that the car had stopped and that they were home. Sean woke up and carried Abby from the car. Just as he reached the door he saw Deborah talking to his mom. He saw them smiling. He saw her hand his mom a huge box. He brought Abby inside and placed her on the couch. Then he inquisitively approached his mom in the kitchen. Before he could say a word, Ruth said, “the box is for your sister. Apparently, Santa left it at the wrong house,” she laughed. Sean laughed too. Then she said, I hear that he left something for you out back. Sean looked at his mom and then ran outside. His jaw fell open as he looked and saw the new backboard. There was a new shiny basketball hoop with a bright white net. The court had been freshly painted and they were new outdoor lights. Then he turned as he heard voices behind him. He saw Jacob and some of the guys from school headed his way. He just smiled from ear to ear. Jacob decided to wait and tell Sean about the PS5 later.

Later, Abby started to wake up from her nap and was surprised to find herself on the couch. The room was dimly lit and the only light came from the flashing lights on the Christmas tree. She watched the lights for a moment and the train running on the track underneath. She looked up at the filled stockings hung up and then noticed something that wasn’t there before.  There was one single, tall, gift wrapped box leaning against the mantle. Abby walked over to inspect it. She saw a card that read, “For Abby, love Santa”. She immediately began tearing open the fancy wrapping paper and suddenly squealed with delight. It was the doll she had asked for and it looked just like her. Her mother and brother just smiled as they sat at the bottom of the stairs watching in the darkness.

The End