I Got A Box Of Crackers

Well, Christmas has come and gone for another year.

My most memorable moment this year happened on Christmas morning while the kids were opening their presents.

Angel or Devil was opening a gift from my parents. I knew already that it was a Webkinz, which was great, however the packaging caused an event that will stand out in my mind forever. The doll was wrapped inside a saltine cracker box.

As Angel or Devil unwrapped the box she said quietly, "Nana got me crackers." The poor girl actually thought she'd been give a box of crackers. It was heart breaking just to imagine myself at her age and in her place. I could literally feel what she was feeling.

What happened next almost makes a person want to cry.

She tried her very best to be positive about her gift no matter how lame it was. She said in her best fake happy voice, "It's to put on chicken noodle soup."

Normally I would have thought that this whole situation was pretty funny! But this was just too pathetic and sad! You could taste the disappointment that she was struggling so hard to conceal.

"Nana didn't get you crackers for Christmas!" I said, "Open that box up!"

She just sat there holding the box on her lap.

"Open the box, there is something inside!"

"For the love of God open that box!!", I couldn't stand watching her trying to cope with the thought of getting crackers as a Christmas gift. I just wanted her to be relieved of that disappointment.

Finally she put me out of my misery and opened the box and was much happier to see a Black Panther Webkinz rather than 4 rows of crackers. The disappointment was immediately erased and forgotten and she moved on to the next gift as if nothing had happened.

I was lucky enough to have capture the whole thing on video, so I can always go back and see how strong little Angel or Devil was in the face of what must have been a crushing disappointment.

It was a brief moment on our Christmas day but it had a big impact on me.