The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Christmas Surprise

By Jaylyn Cline

I always wondered why I could hardly ever see my grandparents from my mother's side. I only got to see them once a year, when they came down for a day on Christmas Eve. I thought it was odd, they always told me they moved too far North for them to travel all the way home. "It's too expensive; Grandpa is busy with work and Grandma has to keep things in order." They would give me those kinds of excuses. Well, now that I know the truth, it all makes sense. Honestly, I'm not even mad at my parents for lying to me all my life. I almost wish I would have caught them sooner. Wanna know what happened? Here's my story.

"I'm home!" my mother yelled. My siblings ran to the door to greet her with excitement. "How was your day?" I ask as she enters the kitchen. "It was alright, there was a lot of letters to deliver today." I still can't believe my mom had to work two days before Christmas. "Addy, you are in charge of the living room. Ryder, you have the bathrooms. I'll put Ellie down for a nap. And Braxton, you can pick up the kitchen after dinner. We need this house spotless before Grandpa and Grandma come!" We all get everything cleaned, and at this point I have no more energy to do anything else around the house. I help my youngest sister, Ellie, get her pajamas on and get in her crib. I go take my shower and get myself ready for bed, when Ryder walks in. "Do you think it's weird how Grandma and Grandpa only stay Christmas Eve, and then leave?" "They have stuff to do, and it's a long way home. They want to be home on Christmas too," I replied. "I guess, but why wouldn't they come before Christmas Eve and then leave on Christmas Eve night?" "Ryder, I don't know. Just don't worry about it. Go to bed." I fall asleep almost instantly after he leaves my room.

"Good morning!" My grandma yells in my face to wake me up at 7 A.M. Get up and spend time with us. We don't have all day!" Everyone is waiting on me in the living room. "They brought presents!" Braxton yells in my face. "I know Brax, I have eyes too." Ellie is already trying to get her presents open, but is too young to tear the wrapping paper. My dad hasn't said a word to me since he got home, he must be too tired to even function today. After presents, the living room is a disaster, and I have to clean it up. My dad stays behind to help me pick up wrapping paper. "Hey, can you take care of Ellie today? I think I'm going to try and catch up on sleep, and your mother, well, is trying to keep her parents entertained." "Yeah, no problem," I told him. It gets me out of having to listen to the ridiculous stories my grandparents tell all day.

The day is going by fast, and I've done everything from changing diapers to helping my grandma bake cookies. "Shouldn't Grandma and Grandma get going? It's getting late." I say to Ryder. "I guess they are leaving after we get in bed." He replied. "Oh I see, when's dinner?" "Mom said it should be ready in 10 minutes." "Dinner's ready!" My mom yells. "Make that ten seconds." I chuckle. We get done with our traditional Christmas Eve feast, consisting of smoked ham, corn, and pecan pie. "That hit the spot," says my Grandpa. "Yes, it was very delicious. I hope you didn't fill up too much," my Grandma says to my Grandpa. They both start to laugh, and my parents both have a nervous look on their face. I wonder what that's about.

I walk upstairs with Ellie to put her to bed. As I'm walking to her room, I hear my parents talking, and I stop to listen. "You think we can get away with this for long?" I hear my dad ask. "They almost gave it away at dinner today, and our kids aren't that dumb, they'll catch on!" "But they didn't, and they are leaving after they go to bed, so we will be fine," mom whispers. I hear footsteps towards the door, so I get on my way and put Ellie to bed. I go to Ryder's room immediately. "They're hiding something!" I say. "What? What's going on?" He asks. I explain everything I heard my parents say, and Ryder is speechless. "Ryder!" I yell. He pauses for a second, and then begins talking. "Okay, after they think we are asleep, and grandma and grandpa leave, we will follow them, and see what's up. I will knock on your wall, and then you climb out your window, and I will climb out mine." I don't reply, I just nod and walk to my room. I lay on my bed, until I hear the knock on my wall.

As I'm climbing out my window, I look over at Ryder climbing out his. "Okay, they haven't left yet." "And what does that mean?" I ask him. "We can hide in the back of their car." "And what happens when nothing is going on with Grandma and Grandpa?" "Well, we will figure it out from there." We wait in the back of their car, for what seems like forever. They finally come to the car and get going. My heart is racing, what if this all goes wrong? After about half an hour of sitting there silently, my grandpa says something. "Well that was a nice visit, wasn't it?" "I thought so." My grandma replies. I wonder if the kids liked their presents?" "Here, why don't we ask them. Addy, Ryder, did you like the gifts?" My heart drops, and I look at Ryder. We slowly raise our heads over the seats. "Did you not hear me?" Grandma asked. "Yes. We love the gifts." Ryder interrupts. "H-how did you know we were back here?" I ask. "We are your grandparents. Do you really think we are that dumb?" my grandpa asks. "No. We thought we were clever enough to get away with it," Ryder says. "Where are we?" I ask. Right as I ask that, I see we are pulling into a driveway. I've never been to my grandparents', but this must be it. "We are home," My grandma explains. That was quick, I thought. How long were we really in that car? There's no way it was only half an hour. "Woah," says Ryder, "This is one nice place you have." "I've been living here for quite some time," says my grandpa. "How did we get here this fast?" I ask. "I thought you guys lived too far north, and the trip was too expensive." "Oh gosh, are your parents still telling you guys that?" my grandma asks. "We should tell them," says Grandpa. "Might as well," says Grandma. "Tell us what?" I ask. "Well if you wait a minute, I would tell you. We live on the North Pole. Grandpa here needs to leave in a second, so why don't I take you inside and explain the rest?"

My grandma told Ryder and me everything. Grandma and Grandpa are thee Mr. and Mrs. Claus. My grandpa had left to deliver presents and they can only come once a year because it's the only time they aren't busy making presents, and they got home so quick because, well, we flew. I'm still in shock, but it's almost like Ryder saw it coming. "I told you something was up with Grandma and Grandpa," says Ryder. I smile and turn to my grandma. "I suppose I should get you home," says Grandma. She takes us home on what must be a backup sleigh. When we got home, it was like no time had passed. Everyone was still asleep. Now, Ryder and I get to listen to our parents lie to us and our siblings about Grandma and Grandpa, and we act like we don't know a thing.

Christmas Cheer for an Orphan

By Cally DeMontiney

"It's not what's under the Christmas tree that matters, it's who's around it." There are two weeks before Christmas day and of course all my parents can think about during this time of year is presents and family dinner. It seems as if it is more of a burden, than something to be excited about, which isn't right. I would assume Christmas should be a time of joy, Iove, and peace. As this time of year comes around, I wish I could help so many other people. I've always been very blessed with hardworking and loving parents and I realize some people just don't have that. I try my very best not to get down on myself because so many things are out of my control. Knowing that I can't change someone's life completely, I do as much as I can to impact it maybe a little. I volunteer down at the soup kitchen during the holiday, make sure to donate food to the food bank, and do everything in my power to make someone who isn't as blessed as I am during this time of year is having a little bit of a better day than usual. This year I talked to my family about going to an orphanage and bringing a child to come have Christmas with us. We talked it over for awhile and they agreed that it would be a great idea, so we would go down and discuss it with the orphanage owners tomorrow morning.

Cally Demontiney

Last night I had trouble sleeping because I was so anxious about this morning. I got up quickly and made myself presentable enough to be seen in public. I walked down the stairs to see my parents ready to go and we all went to the orphanage. When we arrived I could barely stay in my seat. The owner met us at the door; my parents had called the previous night and made an appointment. She brought us to her office and we discuss that we'd like to spend the Christmas with one of the orphans. She thought it was a great idea and set us up with a child. Her name was Elly Rolond, she was nine-years-old.

When she got to our house, she was very shy and didn't really know what to do. I tried my best to make her as comfortable as possible so we went up to my room and I brought out my old dollhouse and barbies. I got her to come out of her comfort zone a little. She told me that she loved barbies so I was really happy I kept them.

We got to know each other a little and I already enjoyed her being at my house so much. She loved spending Christmas with us and we loved her. We grew so attached we went back to the orphanage and adopted her. It was the best Christmas I'd ever had. Merry Christmas!