Rosie Johannsen
No. 30 in the Cobblestone Circle Series
She loves everything about it ~ the hustle and bustle of baking cookies and gift wrapping and sending holiday cards and decorating ~ all while humming along to the music of the season.
Today she is bringing down the last few boxes of decorations from the attic and now that she has opened this particular box it will really feel like Christmas for her. You see this box contains the items that Rosie holds so dear ~ the precious lumps of paper, glitter and glue made by her children. They are teenagers now and will of course balk when they see these things displayed again. Maybe it is a beauty only a parent can see, but these things are special to Rosie and they can just roll their eyes all they want.
Right on top she finds the basket that makes her laugh every year. To the unknowing eye it may look like a basket full of crumpled tissue ~ but Rosie can still see her little Rachel standing so proudly next to the Christmas tree that she decorated with these snowballs that she fashioned all by herself.
And laying flat at the very bottom of the box are two of her absolute favorites ~ the paper doily angels they made in preschool. It never fails to bring a smile to her face as she recalls how proud Ethan was the day he brought his home and hung it up on the refrigerator.
The one thing she does not look forward to at this time of year is her husband Sam asking every day “What do you want for Christmas? ” She knows he doesn’t mean to be so persistent. He must see so many festive reminders as he walks through town to the train station each day on his way to work at the University in Bramberry.
But what can she tell him? Aside from having her family healthy and together for the holidays ~ she already has what she wants for Christmas ~ being able to go through this box of memories again this year.
~ SOLD ~
December 2007
