The Meaning of Christmas

On a cold day in December, Sara White went shopping for her Christmas presents to give her family. At seven-thirty in the morning, Sara's alarm went off. She turned it off and began to wipe the sleep out of her eyes. She crawled out of the bed and got into the shower. She put on a grey sweater, with a pink scarf, and jeans. She sprayed some perfume and made her way out the door. She hopped into her white Mercedes, turned the ignition, and made her way to the market place. She walked onto the paved roads in the market place and noticed the Christmas lights turned on during the day. She thought to herself, "Those lights are beautiful; it really gets people in the Christmas spirit." Sara also noticed all of the people running around, as if they had gone mad, trying to get gifts before they had all been picked over.

She hurried off to Macy's (a clothing store). Before she entered the store, a bum was sitting outside with a guitar singing for money. He was very dirty, with a long grey beard, and long hair that had not been washed or brushed in a while. He was wearing a brown jacket with stains all over it, and old dirty jeans. He asked in a raspy voice, "Do you have any spare change, Mam?" She looked at him with a scared look on her face and said, "No, go away, don't talk to me. If I had any spare change, I would not give it to you. You would spend it on alcohol and drugs." He looked at her with a confused look on his face and said, "Mam, I have two daughters; my wife left me and took everything. I don't even have a family to spend Christmas with, unlike you. Obviously you don't know the meaning of Christmas. If you were in my place, you wouldn't survive a week. Maybe one day you will notice the true meaning." Sara was so appalled. "How can that bum tell me I don't know the true meaning of Christmas?" she thought. Sara shook off what the bum said and began shopping for her family.

She picked out her presents and made her way to the check out line. While she was standing at the check out, a little blonde headed girl with blue eyes was standing in front of her with her mother. Sara noticed that they were dressed in rags. The little girl began to pitch a fit because she wanted a baby doll. She begged, "Mommy, Please! Please, it is only six dollars!" Her mother looked at her with dismay and replied, "Laura, we don't have that kind of money, you know that. Don't make a scene in this nice store, or I will give you a whoopin'." Sara could not believe her ears. She began to think about Meredith, her daughter, who had tons of baby dolls at home she did not even play with, and that poor little girl just wanted one made of plastic. How can a family not afford a six dollar baby doll?

She finished checking out and walked out of the store and made her way down the street, her arms filled with red, green, and silver wrapped presents. Sara noticed this old colored women walking towards her. She thought to herself, "Not another beggar." The little old lady stopped her and asked, "Please, Missy, will you lace up my shoe?" She held up her foot. Startled and puzzled Sara asked her, "What do you want, Grandma?" "See my shoe," the old lady asked. "Do all right for out in the country, but wouldn't look right in a big building." "Stand still then, Grandma," Sara sternly asked as she sat her packages down and began to tie the old lady's shoes. The old lady said, "Can't