Believe in Santa Claus

I received this via email this morning from a good friend down in South Carolina, I have no idea where it originated but I loved it and wanted to share it. Any of you who know me, know that yes, I do believe in Santa Claus. I hope you enjoy the story as much as I did.

BELIEVE IN SANTA CLAUS I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no SantaClaus," she jeered. "Even dummies know that!" My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma alwaystold the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easierwhen swallowed with one of her "world-famous" cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true. Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus?" shesnorted...."Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been goingaround for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad!! Now, put on your coat, and let's go." "Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my second world-famous cinnamon bun. "Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything.
As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars .That was a bundle in those days. "Take this money," she said, "and buysomething for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car" Thenshe turned and walked out of Kerby's. I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother,but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big andcrowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for.I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, the people who went to my church.I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me inMrs. Pollock's grade-two class. Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out to recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling theteacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough; he didn't have a good coat. I fingered the ten-dollar billwith growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat! I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that. "Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind thecounter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down. "Yes, ma'am," I repliedshyly. "It's for Bobby." The nice lady smiled at me, as I told her about how Bobby reallyneeded a good winter coat. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in abag, smiled again, and wished me a Merry Christmas. That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) in Christmas paper andribbons and wrote, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" on it.Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove meover to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially, one of Santa's helpers. Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and Icrept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going." I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the presentdown on his step, pounded his door and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma. Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby. Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized thatthose awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said theywere -- ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team. I still have the Bible, with the coat tag tucked inside: $19.95. May you always have LOVE to share, HEALTH to spare and FRIENDS that care... And may you always believe in the magic of Santa Claus!