That Was Then.. by Melody Carlson

Author:Melody Carlson [Carlson, Melody]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Digital, Inc.
Published: 2006-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

Dear Scrooge,

I don’t think you really get Christmas. It’s not supposed to be about getting what you want or having good things happen to you. If you really want to have a good Christmas, why don’t you look into some ways to help others? Find someone who’s got it worse than you, and lend a hand. Maybe you’ll discover that it’s not about what you get, but what you give.

Just Jamie

Eleven

Saturday, December 23

Nat is in a black mood today. Really dark. I’ve tried to get her out of it. I baked cookies and put up some of Mom’s old Christmas decorations. I even played some Christmas music, some of the funky old vinyl albums that my mom used to love. I thought our house was actually feeling pretty festive too, but nothing seems to bring Nat out of her gloom. This morning I even made us waffles for breakfast, the kind you make with batter and a waffle iron. But do you think that cheered Nat up? Think again.

“I’m going to be pregnant forever,” she complained as I cleaned up my waffle mess. “It’s God’s punishment on me.”

“Yeah, right.” I put a bowl in the dishwasher. “That sounds like something God would do, Nat.”

So then she pulled her sweatshirt up, revealing this enormous stomach with all these weird little purple lines running every which way, kind of like a road map. “Look at me, Kim! I’m gross and ugly and there’s no way my body will ever be the same again.”

Okay, I’m pretty shocked at the size of her stomach, not to mention all those lines, which I assume are stretch marks because she’s been complaining about that a lot. And I guess I can almost believe her. I mean, how is it possible that her body ever will be the same? But for her sake, I tried to act like it’s no big deal. “Look at the bright side. If God really is punishing you and you really are going to be pregnant for the rest of your life, you’ll probably become famous. You’ll be written up in the ‘Guinness Book of World Records.’ I’ll bet Oprah will even want you on her show.”

That’s when Nat threw a potholder at me. Oh well.

And I’m not stupid. I’m well aware that she has plenty to be miserable about. I can’t even imagine how I’d feel if I was her. I think I might rather be dead. And I know I should be more compassionate and kind, but after attempting to humor her all day yesterday and then again this morning, I needed a break.

“I need to do some Christmas shopping,” I told her, knowing full well that nothing short of going into labor would tear her away from this house. I also knew that the mall would be packed and that I totally hate fighting the crowds. But I felt like it was simply the lesser of two evils. My mom used to say that.

“But, Kim—”

“Don’t worry. I’ll have my cell phone with me and turned on, and if you have even just one contraction, you can call me.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.