The Gumball Ornament

Dear Liliyah:

This is a story about me and you...and your Daddy.  It happened right before Christmas of 2017 when you were 6 years old.  You and your Daddy were living in Franklin, Tennessee.  You were in Kindergarten and for the first time ever you really loved going to school.  You loved your teacher, your classmates, and learning.  We were all so happy because you were really loving going to school and learning.  I enjoyed talking with you as you would tell me all about your school day and show me what you had learned.  Your Dad saved every school paper so we could all see them when we were visiting.

Then, all of a sudden, about a week before Christmas, you were misbehaving in school.  You were hitting your friends and saying bad words, and just not paying attention to your teacher.  You even got called into the principal's office!  Your Dad was beside himself and he called me to get some advice about how to handle the situation.

Sometimes when little people are stressed about something, they can react in different ways.  They may not even know what is bothering them.  I decided to get you on Face Time so I could talk with you and maybe figure it out.  One thing I noticed was that things were going to be different for you over Christmas.  You were going to visit your Meemaw in Texas, while your Dad was coming to Florida to visit me and Papa Tom.  I could tell that you were excited about your trip; but at the same time you were a bit nervous about being away from Dad.

We talked about leadership and how you needed to respect other classmates in school; and you promised me that you would work hard to be a better leader.  It was a little funny because you asked me how many days you had to be a leader.  You also promised me that you would go to school the next day and give your teacher a hug and tell her you were sorry for misbehaving.  We made an agreement that we would Face Time again during the middle of the week to see how you were doing.

When we talked again, you had improved, but you forgot to give your teacher a hug and say that you were sorry.  As we were talking, you decided to show me the two Christmas ornaments that I had recently sent to you and Daddy, so that you could hang them on your Christmas tree.  Yours was a snowman with his belly looking like a snow globe.  Your Daddy's was a gumball machine.  Both of these ornaments were made of fine glass and were very fragile.  You carefully placed them on the couch, but when you sat down, Daddy's ornament rolled off the couch and onto the floor, and it broke into many pieces.  The look on your face was one I'll never forget.  You were shocked, sad, and frightened all at the same time.  Daddy came rushing in and you apologized several times and tried to explain that it was an accident.  However, Dad was not too happy with you.  He cleaned up the glass and grumbled as he walked back into his office.  We just looked at each other with sad faces wondering what to do to make Daddy happy again.

I walked over to my Christmas tree and pulled a very special ornament off and showed it to you.  It was a little gumball machine that your Daddy gave to me when he was in preschool and I was his teacher.  It had a lot of meaning for me and your Daddy.  You see, my preschool had a real gumball machine by the door.  When all of the students left for the day, your Daddy would put all of the toys away in the school while I took care of the paperwork on my desk.  Then he would come over and sit on my lap and we would cuddle for awhile before lunch.  If he did a good job of cleaning up the preschool, I would let him reach into my apron pocket and get two pennies for gumballs.

I showed you this ornament and told you how special it was to me and Daddy.  I asked you if you could take good care of this ornament if I sent it to you to give to Daddy for Christmas.  You smiled real big knowing that this might make your Dad feel a bit better about the accident.  So I packed it up and placed it inside of your Christmas stocking and shipped it to you.  When you opened your presents on Christmas morning and found the gumball, you smiled, handed it to Daddy and told him the whole story behind it.

Sometimes little mishaps can happen in life; just like the broken gumball machine.  BUT, many times great lessons are learned, and a little mistake can turn into a very memorable moment.  Liliyah, it's ok to make mistakes; but when you do, always make sure you learn something from it.  Take those mistakes and turn them into something spectacular....just like you.

Love....Nana