The Angel of Smiles

I am a bit late with the Christmas decorations this year.  Not late by a lot of folk's standards but definitely late by mine!  I would put Christmas decorations up as soon as I took down the Halloween ones if I had my way.  This year, however, too many chores got in the way of even hauling the stuff down from upstairs.  The first annual Bayou Clue Hunt took up more of my time than I expected and put me several weeks behind schedule.  Still, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the Little Bayou House!  Today, I unpacked a huge box of decorations and came across something that struck a memory.  A rather plump stuffed ragdoll of an angel was lifted from between the jumping jacks and nutcrackers.  This angel is nothing special to anyone else but carries a bit of special meaning to me.  You see, it is not everyday that you can rescue an angel!  That job is usually flip-flopped around to where the angel saves the mere human.  But I rescued this angel from a dire situation and I am quite sure she appreciates my efforts.

Long ago, I was in a department store just before Christmas.  This was back when my kids were small and I needed to do some Santa shopping.  While I was there, a group of kids that I am sure were not on Santa's "Good List" were being downright rowdy!  They were running through the aisle pulling items from shopper's carts, pushing through the crowds and screaming at the tops of their lungs.  The parents of these (not so) sweet darlings were oblivious to their brats'..er..kids'
 roughhousing.  I pushed my cart far from them but was soon accosted as I rounded the end of one aisle.  It was then that I saw that the kids had pulled down some of the store's decorations and were kicking them around on the floor.  Ugh!  I am quite sure that my kids would have met with some..umm..stern discipline long before their actions would have gotten so out of hand.  When they saw me, they scattered leaving a huge mess.  Amidst the broken ornaments, tangled garland and toppled trees was a sweet angel.  They had been kicking it as if it was a soccer ball.  Poor sweet thing!  I could not stand the idea that the angel was being so abused!  I picked her up and tried to shake the dust and grime from her.  Shards of glass Christmas balls were tangled in her hair and her wings were ripped from her back.  This would never do!  I put her in the shopping cart.  I was not in the mood to shop any more!  When I went to check out and pay for my items, the store manager walked up to me and apologized for the kids' actions.  She looked at the angel in the cart and asked if I wanted a different one.  When I declined and explained why I chose that angel, she reached over and put her in my bag.  "If you really want that angel, there will be no charge.  Just make sure she has a Merry Christmas."  I smiled and told her that I would definitely do that and that she just made my Christmas a bit merrier!

Now this angel is one of my favorite decorations.  She sits among the pine cones and holly berries with the broadest smile on her face.  You know, I do not recall that bright smile when I picked her up from the floor.  It almost seemed as if she was sad..very sad at that time. Merry Christmas, Little Angel!  I am glad that you came to live with us and be a reminder that we should be a bit nicer, a bit kinder to all.