A Special Gift...

I left home one day shortly before Christmas to go run errands... I barely was a mile away when the girls called me. There was crying in the background. Not-there's something terrible wrong- crying... more-uh-oh, we're in trouble now- crying.

I have a very small (3) collection of Christmas snow globes. I haven't actively tried to collect them, but the few I have are very special to me.

The first snow globe is a Peanut's snow globe I got from Larry and Sally Blanc. They are Godparents to my girls. Sally was one of my first friends when I moved to Pendleton. We only worked together for a year or so, but the trauma of that job (ok, it wasn't really that bad) bonded us tight. She and her family are very special to us and I think of them every year I take it out.

The second snow globe I got from my mom. It is shiny, elegant, and grand. The music box base is silver. Inside is a vintage looking glass Santa. I put it in the center of my Santa display.

My third snow globe I got at a Christmas exchange. It has a wooden base and holds a Nativity scene. It clearly was the least expensive of the bunch... but it held an important place on my Nativity table for Christmas.

You can imagine that the snow globes are very enticing to little girls. I don't hover around my decorations telling them to keep their hands off ~ but they have been reminded numerous times that many of them are fragile.

On this day... Jesus, Mary & Joseph came crashing down onto the hard wood floor. Shattered. There are conflicting alibi's regarding the location of each child at the time of the accident. I did a lot of 'self talk' on the way home. I knew from the crying on the phone that they already felt bad... I figured my remaining two snow globes would lead safe lives. The consequences of a dropped snow globe would be etched in their minds for a long time.

Imagine my delight when I unwrapped this globe for Christmas. Girls, I love you and we all must remember that 'things' can always be replaced.