The Giving Trees

I was a single parent of four small children.Money was always tight,but we had a roof over our heads,food on the table,clothes on our backs,and if not a lot,always enough.My kids told me that in those days they didn’t know we were poor.They just thought Mom was cheap①.I’ve always been glad about that.It was Christmas time,and although there wasn’t money for a lot of gifts,we planned to celebrate with church and family,parties

I was a single parent of four small children. Money was always tight, but we had a roof over our heads, food on the table, clothes on our backs, and if not a lot, always enough. My kids told me that in those days they didn＇t know we were poor. They just thought Morn was cheap I＇ve always been glad about that. it was Christmas time, and although tilere wasn＇t money for a lot of gifts, we planned to celebrate with church and family, parties and friends, drive downtown to see the Christmas lights, special dinners, and celebrate by decorating our home. But the big excitement for the kids was the fun of Christmas shopping at the mall. They talked and planned for weeks ahead of time, asking each other and their grandparents what they wanted for Christmas. I dreaded it. I had saved S120 for presents. The big day arrived and we started out early. I gave each of the four kids a twenty dollar bill and reminded them to look for gifts about four dollars each. Then everyone scattered. We had two hours to shop; then we would meet back at the ＂Santa＇s workshop＂ display.