Christmas Magic

 In Greenwood, there was  Drug store, they carried everything you needed, almost like our Shoppers Drug Mart. The Drugist owned the store, and they always wrapped the purchases in brown or white paper with string..later years they went to bags...but when we first moved to town....brown paper packages tied up with string.... at Christmas it was white paper and there were wreaths printed on the paper. Down stairs at the drug store he had it set up as "Toyland" and as kids, we thought it was unique and magical...we could see all the toys,out of their boxes in working order. Tea sets set on small table and chairs, train sets going around on their trackes, doll, teddy bears, christmas tree decorated with toys around. You could  walked around and looked at all the delights, with Christmas music playing in the background..and when you were done dreaming and wishing you recieved a candy cane and a Christmas orange.
   Now, this one day I came home from school, and there was no one home...at the time we were renting this small house in Greenwood. Well, I had the house to myself at least for a few minutes.Not really remembering where everyone was....but this was a great time for me to raid the cookie jar...and well, I decided to snoop, cause I was at "That age" and wanted to figure things out for myself....a regular Nancy Drew. ...Mom and dad's bedroom was a logical place and it was always out of bounds...mom and dad had a wardrobe in their room instead of built in closets...and when I opend the closet there was treasure!! ...boxes of all shapes and sizes all wrapped in paper from the drug store stacked neatly ...all white and clean with wreaths...crisp edges..., gone were mom and dads shoes and the stuff we all put in the bottom of our closets...clothes were shifted and squished over..I had a secret..and I wasn't sharing..
   Christmas morning it had dawned on me that somethings were different....so as mom was busy in the kitchen preparing the Christmas feast..and the boys playing with their their toys..and dad doing? dad stuff...I went into mom and dad's room (door was open) and I opened the closet and in the closet was back to normal...clothes, shoes were all put back like they were never moved...and as I watched the boys play with their toys, I was looking at the wrappings and boxes...they were clearly different.....Christmas Magic.....or Christmas Mystery. (in picture is Roland, Ernie, Martin,Gerald and Me....on table is a Marshmellow castle and a Gingerbread house, birthday cakes for Roland and Gerald.)