Grandpa Was Quite a Tease

My mother grew up during the great depression. 

My Grandfather was out of work for over four years. 

She said at the time she never knew that. 

They had a victory garden. They raised and sold chickens. Grandma made their clothes. Grandpa and my Uncles did odd jobs for cash, but they mostly existed on what they could do for themselves. They had the basics but luxuries, like Christmas presents, were few and far between.

One year my mother asked for a doll carriage. A white wicker doll carriage. Something that was far beyond what they could afford but somehow my Grandfather managed and under the tree on Christmas morning was a beautiful white wicker doll carriage.

But it had no tag.

Now, my mother was the only girl in the family, besides Grandma and she was pretty sure her mother didn’t ask Santa for a doll carriage. 

She ran up to it squealing with delight and proceeded to play with it. 

Grandpa looked at her with concern and said, “How do you know that’s for you?”

My mother said she was stunned. 

Grandpa said look at the tag.

‘But it has no tag’, she said.

‘Well then I guess it’s not for you ’, said Grandpa.

(At this point in the story I always decried the cruelty of such a statement.)

My mother said she put it back under the tree and slunk away in utter disappointment.

I guess Great Grandma (Grandpa’s mother) thought it was unfair too.

She called my mother over and said she had a solution. 

She took my mother by the hand, led her into her room, found a packing tag and wrote on the tag: TO: MY MOTHER FROM: SANTA.

She went over to the doll carriage and tied the tag to the handle.

‘Now it's yours', she said. 

When Grandpa came back into the room he scolded my mother for playing with it.

Great Grandma said, ‘Show him the tag.’

And then to Grandpa, ‘You must not have seen it’ with a look in her eyes that told my mother Grandpa was in BIG TROUBLE!

VINDICATED!