tkt8763-01: TOD: The Envelope (fwd)

["Larry S. Anderson -- NCTP" <lsa1@ra.msstate.edu>]

This is a great message from Debbie Podwika (thanks heaply, Debbie) that
really struck my soul.  Right now, I cannot think of a better Christmas
gift than to find one simple envelope at the Anderson family Christmas
tree on Christmas morning....one like the envelope mentioned in this
story.

I hope this causes you to think...and to do something special for someone
you love!  May you all find Christmas to be especially meaningful this
year!

--Dr. A
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 12:58:11 -0600
From: debbie podwika <dpodwika@kcc.cc.il.us>
To: dpodwika@kcc.cc.il.us
Subject: TOD: The Envelope

I though all of you might like this. Debbie


                  The Envelope

It's just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas
tree.  No name, no identification, no inscription.  It has peeked through
the branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so.  
  
 It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas-oh, not the true
meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it-overspending, the
frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and
the dusting powder for Grandma - the gifts given in desperation because you
couldn't think of anything else.

Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual
shirts,sweaters, ties and so forth.  I reached for something special just
 for Mike.
 
 The inspiration came in an unusual way.  Our son Kevin, who was 12 that
year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended; and
shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team
sponsored by an inner-city church.  These youngsters, dressed in sneakers
 so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them
together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and
gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes.
 
 As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling
without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's
ears.  It was a luxury the team could not afford.  Well, we took every
weight class.
 
 Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, "I wish just one of them
could have won," he said.  "They have a lot of potential, but losing like
 this could take the heart right out of them."
 
Mike loved kids-all kids-and he knew them, having coached little league
football, baseball and lacrosse.  That's when the idea for his present
came.  That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an
assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the
inner-city church.  On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the
 tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his
gift from me.  His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year
and in succeeding years.

For each Christmas, I followed the tradition-one year sending a group of
mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a
pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week
before Christmas, and on and on.  The envelope became the highlight of our
Christmas.  It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and
our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed
anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its
contents.  As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical
presents, but the envelope never lost its allure.

The story doesn't end there.  You see, we lost Mike last year due to
dreaded cancer.  When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in
grief that I barely got the tree up. But Christmas Eve found me placing an
envelope on the tree, and in the morning, it was joined by three more.

Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on
the tree for their dad.  The tradition has grown and someday will expand
even further with our grandchildren standing round the tree with wide-eyed
anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope.

Mike's spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us.  May we
all remember the Christmas spirit this year and always.

**********************************
"The pessimist sees difficulties in every opportunity. 
  The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty."
      - Winston Churchill

               Deborah S. Podwika, M.A.      
               Kankakee Community College
               Humanities & Social Sciences
               Psychology Department          
               P.O. Box 888, River Road      
               Kankakee, IL 60901-0888    
               Office: 815.933.0283              
               Fax:    815.933.0217        
                          
               Email:  dpodwika@kcc.cc.il.us 
                            debbiepodwika@geocities.com    
                    W-Page:
<http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Library/7828/>   
**************************************

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