# From a msg post on Chelsey's CarePage...



## Mrs Backlasher (Dec 19, 2004)

I saw this post on the "message board" section of Chelsey Campbell's CarePage and want to share it. It seemed like a wonderful way to honor a loved one's memory at Christmas.

A Simple White Envelope on the Christmas Tree

"It's just a small white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so.

It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas -- oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it -- the overspending, the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma -- the gifts given in desperation because you couldn't think of anything else.

Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties, and so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual way. Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended. Shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church.

These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes. As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears. It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford.

Well, we ended up walloping them. We took every weight class. And as each of their boys got up from the mat, he swaggered around in his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn't acknowledge defeat. Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, "I wish just one of them could have won," he said. "They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them." Mike loved kids -- all kids -- and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball, and lacrosse.

That's when the idea for his present came. That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church. On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years.

For each Christmas, I followed the tradition -- one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on. The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning, and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.

As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure.

The story doesn't end there. You see, we lost Mike last year due to cancer. When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up. But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning it was joined by three more. Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad.

The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope.

Mike's spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us, May we all remember Christ, who is the reason for the season, and the true Christmas spirit this year and always."


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## Haute Pursuit (Jun 26, 2006)

That was awesome reading.


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## Belinda (Jun 10, 2005)

Mrs. B, thank you for sharing that. My Mother in Law and I do that very thing for each other. Every year for Christmas and Birthdays we exchange only cards showing what we did for someone. It is the gift I look forward to giving and receiving each year, I am always excited to get that card! I love to be able to help someone out when I can, and this allows me to help twice as much. But we don't even have to spend any money, the idea is to do something nice for someone else. On time my sister saw an older woman struggling to mow her grass and stopped and did it for her. PERFECT! I tell all of my family that is what I want, but only my MIL does it (my hubby just thinks it is a way to get out of buying me a gift! "I thought you didn't WANT anything, Sweetie") It is something I truly enjoy and I would love for more people to do it too. Do we really need another tie? Or slippers? Or shirt? Why give a gift that will sit on the shelf or be thrown in the closet, or be sold in next year's garage sale when there are kids who have no shoes? Or a family in need of food?


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## WhiteH20_Princess (Mar 30, 2006)

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Mrs Backlasher again.

that was a good post Mrs. B, hoping that you & Mr. B have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New year! ​


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## FishingFrank (Oct 30, 2006)

Dang!!! Mrs. B you just keep making us all feel guilty and cry. Actually this is the best thing I've ever read this close to Christmas, I must share this with all my family. I will cut and paste to my e-mail and send it to all my friends aswell. Thank you and may the Lord Bless you and yours through this special time of the year as you have Blessed mine with this post.


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## Mrs Backlasher (Dec 19, 2004)

When I read this post on Chelsey Campbell's CarePage "message board" it just seemed "Heaven Sent"! What an awesome way to remember a loved one. And Belinda is right - it isn't just to remember our loved ones who have passed on, it's a good method for our living loved ones as well. Thanks for that testimony, Belinda!

May the blessings of God "overtake" each of you during this Christmas season. That means that you can't "outrun" them. The blessings of God will catch up to you and fall all over you. REJOICE IN JESUS!!


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## TXPalerider (May 21, 2004)

Very cool


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## hunt2grill (Dec 1, 2006)

*gotcha*



WhiteH20_Princess said:


> You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Mrs Backlasher again.
> 
> that was a good post Mrs. B, hoping that you & Mr. B have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New year!
> ​


I gave what I could


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