Shiny Dime In the Toe

COUSIN SUSAN,
GREAT STORY....
THANKS
PAUL HAMMETT

Susan, that was a special Christmas story. Litte traditions mean everything!
Mattie

Give me a lump in the throat! Give me tears in my eyes! Whata ya got!? My response to your Reader's Digest/Hallmark quality story!
Rich in Georgia

Evidence that although we are always searching for something bigger, better, the most precious things life has to offer are right under our nose! Thanks for sharing!

Michele

Dearhearts...thanks for taking your time to read this little story and then writing to me at this site. I appreciate your comments and am encouraged to keep on 'keeping on'! Merry Christmas!

Great Christmas story. The importance of a shiny dime will be your Christmas tradition for the ages I suspect. Very nice indeed.......Kath

Whew, NuNu, who woulda thunk? Larry Bones never ceases to amaze me....he' a lot like his Mamma and my dear friend.

Forgot to sign it....Love You, Bobbe

Sweet sis-o-mine,
What a splendid time to share this true family story! How well I remember the shiny dimes in the toes of our stockings each December 25th, and how I anticipated walking to Fling's corner store to spend my dime on a candy bar soon after Christmas! You told this family remembrance so vividly that I'm now imagining Mama making certain she had "real shiny" dimes to place in all three stockings~
ILY,
Sandi.

Sandi, I am so thankful that we have this shared memory and many, many, many more over our lifetimes! ~ILY2.

I read Rich's comment and wholeheartedly agree that this is a Reader's Digest quality story.
Submit it soon!
Sandi.

I like the way you write. You describe things real well and use a lot of details that help readers envision the scene. Any more Christmas traditions stored in you memories?
Beth

Thank you, Beth. To answer your question, let me tell you of 2 Christmas traditions that remain in my memory box. Our family always ate a big dinner at my paternal grandmother's house on December 24th. Ambrosia and coconut cake were always served for dessert. I can remember Dammie (isn't that a funny name for Grandmama?!) peeling lots of fragrant oranges, juice dripping everywhere, and cracking open the big brown coconut to reveal the whitest of white "goody" inside. She then grated that part to make fine strands of coconut, enough for the ambrosia and for the homemade coconut cake. The oranges were sectioned just so and put in the mixing bowl with the grated coconut. The brightest red Maraschino cherries, chopped pecans and marshmallows were added then all was placed in a beautiful cut glass bowl and set on the buffet alongside the cake, waiting to be served to hungry adults and children! As a child I wondered why we had these two desserts only once a year. As an adult, I see that there was a lot of labor to concocting both desserts from scratch! Christmas Eve at 11 o'clock, we always went to the Candlelight Service at the Presbyterian Church and at the stroke of midnight, the choir and the congregation sang "O Holy Night" together. That is my favorite Christmas song to this day. Merry Christmas to you and yours! ~ Susan

Hi Susan--

After a another cold icey day in Texas and a schedule that was basically full on a day that you would have thought people would stay home, I have a minutes peace and found your's and Sandy's articles. I have some fond memories of the few visits I had with your grandmother. Do you have the cake recipie?
Hope you are well.
Jeanie Hammett-Zelanko

Susan, your comments about the ambrosia and coconut cake sound as though you spent Christmas at MY house! My mother and grandmother baked pies and cakes, including really good fruitcakes (can you imagine?) for several days before Christmas, and the ambrosia was always served in a cut-glass bowl. It was made just as you said, the old-fashioned "from scratch" way. Thanks for sharing your "precious memories", and re-igniting mine! ~ Mary (Mimi)

Ummm, Mary (Mimi), may I come to your house for good fruitcake, and ambrosia this Christmas! Don't I wish that I had the motivation/energy to try my hand at making both?! Thanks for writing in...Merry Christmas from Susan

Dear Susan,

Your style of writing paints vivid, long lasting pictures of simple things like the tradition of a shiny dime in the toe of a Christmas stocking. My stocking always had an orange stamped Seville in the toe. Merry Christmas. Veronica

Thank you, Veronica...don't we all love the sweet traditions of our lives? I do appreciate and respect your comments about my Christmas story. Have a joyful Christmas with your family! ~ Susan

Glad i read this. It might have slipped by me if you had not won the award. You deserve it though. Good nugget of a story and not too long. I like what your soldier son said.
Dee

Hooray! You deserved this honor...winning the monthly contest for best post. I hope it's your first of many more writing awards, because I know you have so much more to share about life, family, remembrances, etc.
Congratulations, sweet Susan. I'm truly happy for you.
Love,
Sandi.

Susan,
That is an awesome story, I am crying right now.. not only for the wonderful tradition but for the courage that your son has along with other men and women in military seving in the middle east, but also for my family. We as like most families have traditions also. It has saddened me that I have not been very happy at Christmas time for some years. This Christmas we didn't even put up a tree because my girls said they didn't want to take down so many ornaments. YES I love them and year after year would tell the story about almost all of them. Well your story has proven to me that even tho I am sad or whatever I still need to keep it up because it effects so many people.
God bless you and thank you for the wondeful comments you left on my stories.
Debbi