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Christmas Present

My favorite holidays were when my children were young and when I watched them everything seemed new and bright to me. The year of 1977 was no different. I always started as early as possible to get just the right Christmas present and to make sure that all of holiday decorations were as pretty as could be. If some weren’t as pretty as I liked I started making a list as to what I needed to buy. This year Thomas was 3 years old and Jennifer was a great big 2 years of age. Watching the excitement starting to build in those little eyes were for me even better than the gifts they would probably receive.

In November I received a call from my mother telling me that my Nana, Marie F Rambo, had fallen down and had to be taken to the hospital for a broken hip. Being reassured that she had a lot of people going to the hospital and taking care of her, I tried to relax and not show any anxiety to Thomas and Jennifer. My mom or my sister, Diana, would give me a call from Pennsylvania at least twice a week to let me know how everything was going and to fill me in on Nana’s health. Being in Phoenix, Arizona might have kept me away from the hospital but a couple of telephone calls which I made also help to keep me calm.

About two weeks before Christmas, mom called and said that the doctors thought that Nana had had a slight heart attack the night before but that she seemed to be all right and her spirits were high. I started to check my savings account, checking account and any other account to see if in an emergency that I could pull enough money together to go to Pennsylvania and see my grandmother if it was needed. What a lousy time to find out that the savings account was untouchable, mainly because I was under the minimum balance, checking account was basically in the same condition and that if something did happen I probably wouldn’t be able to see her at all.

During the day I would try to keep my spirits up but at night after the kids went to bed, I would go numb and not have any energy to accomplish anything. The week before Christmas, I received the news that the hospital was going to release Nana on Christmas Eve unless she took a turn for the worse. That news helped me to finish getting the clothing items which I usually gave the kids for Christmas.

Christmas Eve we watched the children’s Christmas shows which were on television and when they were ready to be tucked into bed I told them the story of Jesus birth and of course The Night Before Christmas. As soon as I knew that the children were asleep, Fred and I pulled out all of the Christmas gifts and arranged them by the Christmas tree. We watched the news when we were finished and then headed off to bed figuring that Thomas and Jennifer would be up early the next morning and we wanted to be awake enough so that we could take pictures and give thanks for Nana getting better.

Between 2:30 and 3:30, I felt a cold hand on my foot. Thinking it was one of the children, I started to get up. When I was in the sitting position, I realized that I could not move any further and that my Nana was at the bottom of my bed. At that moment I realized that Nana looked a little different than the last time I had seen her. To me she appeared to be floating in a cloud. Just as I was about to ask her if this was real, the answer came to me that it was and she was just fine. Noticing that she didn’t actually talk but that my answers were going to be answered at least for a while, I started to think of more things I had wanted to say to her.

“I’m sorry that I told you to wait to come and see the children in October,” I was thinking. The answer came even quicker. “It is a nice house.” “Let me show you Thomas and Jennifer. They will be very disappointed not to see you.” “They are beautiful children and you are doing a good job with them.” “I love you,” I thought to myself. Then Nana said, “I know. I am going to have to leave now.” Just as I was thinking that I didn’t want her to go, I looked and she was nowhere around.

Tears started streaming down my cheeks. At that moment Fred woke up and asked what was the matter. Nothing and everything was the cryptic answer which I gave him. I started to tell him what had just happened and his comment was that I probably had a bad dream. He reminded me that everyone had said that Nana went home from the hospital last night and that she was all right. Fred then promised that after the children opened their Christmas presents that I could call home and make sure. I fell fitly back to sleep for a couple of more hours. When morning came all I wanted to do was cry. Being as patient as he could, Fred looked at me and asked me to try and smile. “We want Thomas and Jennifer to have a good Christmas,” he said.

Just then, Thomas comes running into the bedroom exclaiming that Santa had come and there were presents everywhere. Letting Thomas and Jennifer open one present while I got breakfast ready helped me to get myself together and smile. After breakfast there was the scramble of opening all of the packages and trying to get pictures. As more time went by, I was no longer as upset as I had been about seeing Nana and realized that what I had seen was actually the best present I could have received.

I tried to call my mom and sister several times but either there was no answer or the telephone operator would come on the line and say that the lines were overloaded and to try and call back later. No longer having the anxious feelings of a couple of hours before I sat and played with Thomas and Jennifer.

About 4:00 Phoenix time, I received a call from my mother. The first thing I said was, “What time did she die?” There was a short pause and I heard mom explaining that Nana had had another heart attack three days before Christmas. Not wanting to worry me and figuring that there was nothing that I could do, Mom and Dad decided not to call and tell me. “The doctors had told us that Nana’s heart was giving out and that there was nothing they could do except make her comfortable.” Mom went on to say that she believed that Nana died of a broken heart since her health had continuously gone downhill after my Uncle Frank had died.

When Marie F Rambo died she was surrounded by most of the people she loved and who cared about her. As I think of it now, the best Christmas present I had that year was knowing that Nana had cared enough to come and answer some of my questions and show me in the only way possible that her love for me was forever. Merry Christmas and love forever.

Marie Forster Rambo
born: March 18, 1903
in Phoenixville, Chester County, Pennsylvania
died: December 25, 1977

She was loved by many and
will be forever in our hearts.

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