My RA Ch. 03

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Parade and Park.
35k words
5
3.5k
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Part 4 of the 6 part series

Updated 06/08/2023
Created 06/20/2016
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Thanks goes out to Tigerssman for the editing, to my Dad for some aspects of this story and of course, my family with just a few of my Christmastime traditions.

*****

Soon it would be Christmas, all the kids were excited. Then the blizzard came, all the kids knew Miss Joy came from where there was lots of snow. They asked Miss Joy if they could make a Mommy, Daddy and baby snow family in her yard. They all remembered the pictures of Miss Mei's Christmas trip.

Miss Joy was holding the baby while watching out the window.

When Mei was putting on her snow cap she found the Go Pro camera, she gave her fond memories of her trip. How could we have so much fun in the first three months and total hardship in the next eight? She backed everything up on her computer then put it on a cloud for safety.

Mei came by and just sat on the porch watching the family go up. Every time Miss Mei threw a snowball at a slow worker she had ten thrown back at her.

While she was outside, she saw a little girl sitting on some nearby steps, all alone. Miss Mei went over to the girl and said, "How would you like to do a job for me? This is a video camera I will put on your cap. I want you to run around town and get: into snowball fights, take pictures of snow families and all the decorations so we can see them later."

Sometime later the girl reported back to Miss Mei.

"I love you Miss Mei, no one wanted to play with me. So, when you gave me my job I wanted to do a good job. I felt special because no one else had a camera.

I did as you asked. I went down the hill on a sled. Miss Joy put the blue blanket on the snow baby. I went to the big tree and almost fell over trying to see the tippy top.

I had snowball fights with my friends. I even threw a snowball at Mr. David while he was cleaning the driveway. I tried to sneak up on Mr. Mayor, but he was too sneaky. He threw a snowball way up in the air, I looked up and it landed right on top of my head, he has a good aim. Then he came over and gave me a big hug.

I like him Miss Mei, he was always talking to Grandma, especially when it is real hot or cold out."

Everyone was having an enjoyable time. Even the wreaths looked pretty. Mommy and Daddy got a tree just before the snow came; it's top secret, but teacher had us make decorations for the tree. I did a good job making big circles with the colored paper."

Miss Mei said, "I remember making them, it was real hard for me. You must be good with arts and crafts. Your Mommy and Daddy will be proud to put something you made on your tree. Having done a really good job on it will make sure it looks pretty."

During this talk with the little girl, Mei was unaware that she was being surrounded by several boys and girls, each armed with multiple snowballs and lots of snow to make more.

"One, two, three, now. Mei looked up and no matter what direction she looked there was an inbound snowball. She would have to wait for someone to run out of ammo and sprint through the gap. She ran down the hill and the children were giving chase, throwing errant snowballs.

By the time the children got three-quarters the way down the hill Mei had a pile of snowballs made, and the children were running into the line of fire, unarmed. The first three waves were mowed down, most getting hit two or three times. The little girl with camera rolling ran with them. Miss Mei's return fire at the bottom of the hill was a bonus. The little girl, now a war correspondent, captured the ambush at the top of the hill and the one at the bottom of the hill. She couldn't wait to see it. None of the children could make a snowball because Miss Mei targeted anyone that tried. At the end, everyone was tired. Everybody walked over to Miss Joy's house.

Miss Mei rang the doorbell, Miss Joy answered the door. "Miss Joy, do you have any room for some tired snowball combatants, we even have a war correspondent?"

"Come in, come in, this house is neutral territory. No screaming or you will wake the baby." Soon Mr. David was making grilled cheese sandwiches and Miss Joy was heating up the milk for the hot cocoa with mini marshmallows. "So, Miss Mei, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"Well, at the top of the hill they surrounded me as I was talking to the war correspondent, then they ambushed me. I had to wait until some ran out of ammo, then I ran to the bottom of the hill, dug in and pelted anyone who came down. It was great fun. They won the first battle and I won the last one so it was a tie. The faster ones got it worst because they were the first to get hit."

Joy said, "Well if it was a tie and you all had fun, it is OK."

"David remind me to get better cocoa for next time."

After everyone finished, everyone got to see the baby, then they all left. Mei was so tired she went back to the Lodge and collapsed on her bed. Anne didn't dare wake Mei up, she just put a blanket over her and put 'Bear' in her arms. Mei slept twelve hours straight.

Anne got her a small salad as she knew she would be hungry when she woke up. Dawn walked in and laughed. "She looks like a blue powder puff ball with a pink blanket on her."

Anne said, "She got in a massive war with the kids; it is a shame the kids do not know what a pincher movement is. They would have gotten behind her line and she was lying on her stomach in her fox hole. It would have been a slaughter. "

Mei had just woken up by this news, "Some friend you are, hoping the kids knew war tactics so they could slaughter me." 'Bear' gave Mei a comforting hug, 'Cubby' stood quiet.

"You see, even 'Cubby' does not think that was a very nice thing to say."

Dawn was howling, "Anne, it looks like your bear turned on you. You may have to sleep on the floor until he forgives you."

Anne gave up, "Here is your salad Mei, I thought you might be hungry."

The next day was not as fun, the road was plowed and it was flat by the river.

The Mayor got a surprise phone call, it was his contact person at Disney. "Mr. Mayor we were thinking of doing a Valentines parade and such for you, a two or three-day event. Then we can see what the town is like and its needs. We can work on that stuff later in the year."

"That sounds great. One thing to keep in mind, if you want to come to church you might want to have a dolly or something like that. Bears are forbidden, our students have a 'Bear family' that is invitation only, nine bears, one horse and one of the bears has a unicorn. They are for hurting people, three or four were given to people who lost loved ones. The clothes are made right down in Orlando. You should visit the shop.

"What is it that I can do to help you? Right now, we have a large horse ranch that they are learning from."

"Well Mr. Mayor, as you can imagine we are pretty busy with Christmas and all. I will call you next year."

Anna and Elsa went to find the tailor on their day off. When they found it, they didn't know how to control their emotions. When they were shown the picture of 'Beauty' and were told her story, the two just wept. The two had met Joy and Mei on summer break along with Mei's parents.

The shop manager proudly announced, "Everyone loves working on the bears. It was kind of odd at the beginning, but knowing they go to hurting people makes it special. I had to shut down when we worked on 'Beauty's' things, if I told one they couldn't work on it they would quit on the spot."

From the corner was heard, "You got that right, at least half of us. I feel honored to work on a bear, but 'Beauty' was special."

The shop manager continued: "Mr. David, Miss Faith, Miss Zoe, Miss Anne, and Miss Sarah got their bears from loss of loved ones. Miss Joy and all the children got theirs from the flood. The children know too much of death. Things are turning around, Joy had baby Joshua and 'Beauty' had 'Angel'.

If you go, you must meet Molly, an eight-year-old version of Joy. We all check Joy's Facebook page before we start work to keep up-to-date."

Anna and Elsa went to their boss and pleaded, we need to do something. They listed five people who got their bear because of the loss of a loved one to the manager. Then you add the flood on top of that, those children have just had to deal too much with death. They are just eight years old. We need to bring our 'A' game.

The boss knew this had to be a great pageant. His employees would know if it was second rate. If they went to Northfield, - his employees will have an emotional attachment. From all he has heard this Miss Joy person has a way to get into your soul and changes you for the better, forever. His employees just had to meet her once to know she was special.

Two days before Christmas all the people from the ranch, church and some from the universities, most had left for Christmas break, came into town for Christmas caroling followed by the tree lighting ceremony.

The tree was so tall the fire company had to put all the lights and ornaments on. The people added more to the bottom. Much of them were glass so the lights reflected off them. Many of the children asked if they could make extra decorations in school for the City tree. Some of the members of the school music class were there as well as some adults for the harder songs.

Everyone was in full voice, hot cider and hot chocolate was available. A light snow started to fall. At 8:55, the emcee started to get the crowed excited; the countdown was almost here. The music director started the countdown with the wave of his baton: "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

The lights went on in five sections, starting from the bottom to the top. It made it easy for eyes to follow them up the tree. The surprise was at the top when the star came on, it was new, bigger, and brighter than last year. Everyone looked up and they were abuzz with chatter. Many were finger pointing at this and at that.

It was the star that stole the show. Its light cut through the darkness, it was so bright as the rotating light bounced off mirrors, the mirrors and clear crystal alternated so its light could escape into the night sky. You just couldn't take your eyes from it. Many of the children thought back to their Bible stories.

Miss Sarah rode home with Molly, she almost fell off 'Spirit'. Sarah put the sleeping child to bed. It was well past Molly's bedtime.

Sarah would give her a shortened list of jobs, she knew it was useless, Molly fell into in a pattern. She knew when jobs needed to be done and how long it takes to do said job. She just put them in order. She was getting very good about problem solving. Her leadership skills were growing. It didn't go unnoticed by the other children. Disappointing Molly was not an option.

Miss Joy suddenly realized people viewed Molly much like they did to her before she had to leave school. Molly would be disappointed in herself if she 'Burnt out', the children would be disappointed in her if she did. Joy called Sarah and told her, "We have to make sure that Molly does not get 'Burnt out', it would break her, and we cannot do that to this child. "

Sarah sat Molly down and said, "All those children look up to you and sometimes those expectations can become overwhelming. Those kids made you a leader, they will always expect you to have an answer. Molly can you promise me if you feel pressures building up you will come talk to me or Miss Joy?

"If you keep bottling things up, it will eventually explode on you. Adult's call that being 'Burnt out'; that is what happened to Miss Joy because no one cared about how she felt. She had to leave school. You are just eight so you do not have those coping skills yet. This is ultra-important."

"I promise Miss Sarah, I was sad when Miss Joy had to leave. I tried to help her all I could. I guess it was not good enough."

Sarah said, "Molly, Miss Joy told me you were the only one who knew what she needed, just love. The problem was that no one else did. She tried to talk to people about it, but she was ignored. It just got too much for Miss Joy. She had to leave school to get away from those pressures."

Molly said, "I didn't know that Miss Sarah, I wish I could have helped more. That sounds terrible, I would not want that to happen to me, I promise Miss Sarah."

The Moms of every homes told the children, "I am ready to make your favorite cookies, but if you want to have them you must help make them. If your sister helps, but you do not, she gets her cookies and you do not."

Well, not only did anyone want to miss out on their own special cookie, but also the triple chocolate fudge brownies.

Soon the smell of the cookies wafted in the kitchen. Just the smell, brought back memories from Christmases past. Soon old stories flooded the homes, each child kidding their brother or sister what silly things they did. Everyone was enjoying themselves. They didn't help much, but they did what Mommy asked for.

Little boys played with their Christmas time only trains. Moms handed out egg nog. Some sat down to watch 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' and, 'How the Grinch stole Christmas.' Everyone laughed with 'Snoopy' and how he won the decorating prize. They thought 'Max' looked funny when 'The Grinch' put sticks on his head.

Popcorn was popped and Mommy threaded it so the children could put it on the tree. Many of ornaments were made by the children. Some even threaded cranberries.

Then there were the special presents, Daddy always took the children ornament shopping. Each got Mommy a special ornament. Sometimes it took some time to get 'The right one'. While they didn't have the hand-crafted feel like the ones they made at school they had a high sentimental value, and were always placed high on the tree.

All the children got an early Christmas present with the instructions "Open Christmas Eve afternoon." All the parents knew what it was because they saw the postmark. It was all the Christmas clothing their bear or dolly would need for church on Christmas Day and after they got home.

The seamstresses got some friends to make necklaces, brooches, gold watches and the like for the bears and dollies. They were only told, name, bear / dolly, sizes and a picture. Most of the work was metal work, but there were other specialties. Some had to be good enough for church and some for the more casual for Christmas day.

Many agreed just because they were friends, but didn't understand the meaning for the 'Bear family.' Each bear came with a short bio as to why its owner adopted it. The only outlier in the group was 'Blackie', the bio was vague as to why Dawn had it.

As the craftsman were working most got fully involved with their project, many items were thrown away only to be replaced by a better item. Most were assigned a bear who was given to the person who lost a loved one to make more of an emotional connection first, before the parents' bears were assigned.

The shop manager didn't need to be told that a master craftsman in metal was needed. 'Beauty' gained special status.

The shop manager and all her seamstresses came to the master craftsman armed with pictures and the letter. They wanted to express their feelings with no uncertain meaning to the craftsman. There was a small section of the shirt left over, no one had the heart to throw it away. It might make a good choker.

The craftsman decided to sleep on the project, he had a torturous sleep. Before he went to bed he was thinking of a simple design. During the night, 'Beauty' enveloped his soul. He called several friends to have breakfast with him, he brought all the documents and pictures. These men were master craftsman in several other areas of expertise. Because it was Christmas the church items would be like the royal carriages.

It was five days before Christmas, 'Beauty' was the only outstanding item. The seamstresses were assured that 'Beauty's' was not finished. Several other very special items were made. The leather craftsman wrote what items had to be used together to balance the weight.

The seamstress was called when they were finished, each craftsman lined up behind the showcase and the items were lined up on top of two showcases. It was not what the seamstress imagined. The metal craftsman said I needed some help. After close inspection of every item, the craftsman showed the letter they generated.

Sarah was the last to get her package, a crate actually. Joy, Buddy, David, Jacob and Noel were invited for the unveiling. Jerry and Gail were invited via Skype. They seem to have been automatically adopted to the ranch family. The room was crammed full of people. It was agreed that Sarah would go last.

Each person opened their package, the work was detailed and excellent. It fit every bear, and Molly got a surprise she was given just before Sarah opened her present. She didn't expect one as she was not in the 'Bear family', dollies get more things than bears do.

Molly was speechless, but the best was yet to come. Molly opened a small box that had a small pendant that opened up. Miss Joy asked, "Can I hold your box while you open the necklace?" The necklace had a picture of Molly's dolly and Molly. Miss Joy took the insert out of the box and said, "Here is your box back Molly." Molly was about to close the box when light reflected off the contents. She opened the box only to see a much larger pendant.

Miss Noel said, "I bet that could fit an eight-year old's neck, don't you think Jacob?"

Jacob picked up on his wife's cue. "Noel, you know I am not good at judging that, I would need to have an eight-year-old girl model it for me. Isn't there some in town?"

Molly said, "Mr. Jacob I am eight years old."

Jacob said, "Well we are in luck. Do you think you could model it for us Molly?"

Miss Joy told Molly, "Open it up."

It had a picture of Molly and her dolly.

"Molly if you have a picture of your boyfriend we can put that in the one side."

"Miss Joy, I am only eight years old.

It was Sarah's turn.

Joy said, "Miss Sarah, I do not know what is in the box, but I am told you are meant to bring the ornate stuff to church, do not consider it showing off, but showing God and your parents."

Sarah read the note, she handed it to Zoe in tears. Molly ran to hug Miss Sarah, 'Buddy' was close behind.

"Dear Sarah,

This is in honor to your parents and their continuing legacy of the ranch you own. It was an honor to create your Christmas surprise. Several pieces have parts of your Mom's shirt. It affected us greatly, I am sure many items have dried tears on them. The letter was signed by all the craftsmen."

Joy said, "Buddy, love Miss Sarah."

Miss Zoe read the note out loud, everyone cried.

There was not a sound as piece after piece was lined up on the floor, the carriage was the last to come out.

The leather craftsmanship was superb at balancing the weight. The Royal carriage will surprise to all, it was gem encrusted with emeralds and rubies. The frame was forged silver. The jeweler designed the carriage so one side spelled "In God's Image" on the door.

Jacob nodded to Zoe, she cradled her friend in her arms.

Sarah said, "Zoe these are total strangers and they did these masterpieces for me. I felt Mom had her arms around me just like she did when I was a child."

Jerry said, "Miss Sarah can you show us? We cannot see very well."

Sarah showed Gail and Jerry each piece and then passed them around.

Mr. Jacob said, "Miss Sarah, you are wrong about these people being total strangers, they are just friends you have not met yet."

Molly was conflicted, she had to ask Miss Joy for help. She whispered into Miss Joy's ear. Miss Joy answered her, Molly didn't like the answer, but understood the reason. She nodded her head.

Everyone got their bear or dolly dressed in their finest for church. Jacob's sermon was at 7:30 PM, so the kids could get to sleep on time.