“I’ve saved some for you, brother dear.” Rusty’s bed was made! And there was a box on the bed. With a note: “I’ve saved some for you, brother dear.” He noticed the made bed first ~ he never made his bed unless his mother insisted, so she must have done it. He held the box up to his nose and took a deep breath. 10 year old Rusty was happy. He’d had a great weekend at his friend’s house. He came home to his room cleaned up and his bed made. And to top it off - there was a box of cookies on his pillow. Now he’d have to figure out what to do for Annabelle. Their mother had started them on it. Every year in December, they exchanged gifts. Not just on Christmas Day, but every day. Taking a big bite out of the first cookie, he looked in his closet for his change jar. He kept it hidden in the far corner on the floor behind his boxes of soldiers. Holding the half eaten cookie in his mouth he dumped the coins on his bed. Crumbs at the corners of his mouth he mumbled to himself “What does Annabelle like to do? It’s getting harder every year to get all these things for her.” She had a whole collection of stuffed animals arranged around her bedroom from the last three years. She’d lost interest in them, so that wouldn’t work anymore. “I can’t get her one of her fancy cookbooks. That would take all my money for one gift! Then what will I do?”
Closing his bedroom door tight, and after eating his way through half of his cookies and hiding the rest in his bottom drawer under his T-shirts, he opened his laptop. The Dollar Store! He looked through all their ads. Cake decorating supplies!! “That’s it!! She’s always wanting mom to get her own supply of baking supplies!” Rusty had found exactly what would get him through to Christmas. He didn’t know what most of the stuff was but he’d talk to the clerks to help him. There were funny little plastic things, and things that looked like folded pieces of paper, and red and green sprinkles and special tools for smearing icing. Lots of stuff!” Now all he had to do was try and get something for tomorrow!
“Christmas is doing little something extra for someone.”
~ Charles M. Schulz
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