By Charly Gregg
“Mom!” yelled a very excited Oli, as she was running up the stairs to wake her mom.
It was a snowy Christmas that year, and Oli was so excited to wake her mom that Christmas Day. As soon as the clock said 7:00 am, she jumped out of bed and ran to her mom. She scurried up the stairs and plumped onto her mother’s bed.
“Mom, wake up, it's Christmas morning, and it’s snowing!
The mom, dreading to wake up, decided to give in to the exhilarated child waiting to open her presents. Oli grabbed her mother’s hand and drug her out of bed, and went downstairs.
The tall green Christmas tree filled with lights and ornaments was shining brightly. The presents were all gathered around the tree waiting to be opened; the scintillating star on the tree was beaming with light.
Oli had opened all of her presents and was playing with all of them. She ran in circles and up and down the stairs for hours. When she finally settled down, her mother could see that something was wrong.
“ What’s the matter Oli?” her mother asked with a sad look on her face.
“I miss dad,” Oli said while her eyes started to water.
“I know you do, so do I.” Oli’s mom said, wiping the tears off of Oli’s face.
Oli’s dad was in the army, and they hadn’t seen him since that July. Oli’s dad was stationed in Afghanistan as a Sergeant, he was training his troops to detect IEDs and other dangerous explosives that could ruin our nation. Oli had gotten used to not seeing her dad all of the time; however, it still hurt and scared her to know that there was always a chance her daddy wouldn’t come home from Afghanistan.
They began opening gifts, the toys, the pictures, the blankets, were very beautiful but the one gift Oli longed for the most was her Daddy who was not under the ornately decorated tree. There was one more present to open when…
“Knock Knock,” someone had just knocked on the door, and Oli’s mother got up from the couch to answer it. Little did they know that their Christmas was about to get a whole lot better.
The door opens, and Oli’s mom is struck with a wave of surprise.
“Daddy!” screamed Oli as she ran to her father's arms with tears of pure happiness.
“ Hey munchkin, I’ve missed you so much.” said her father while squeezing his daughter.
“Macey I’ve missed you so much,” said Oli’s dad while walking up to his wife to hug her.
“I can’t believe you’re home; this is the best Christmas ever,” Oli said, giving her mom and dad a hug.
Oli, her mom, and her father opened the very last present all together as a family; and from that day on, Oli has always remembered that day as the best “Wonderful White Christmas.”
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