My Christmas Present

Late on Christmas Eve is when my daughter and I
celebrate Christmas together.
That is what we have done all of her life.
For some reason for us it seems better.
I think it feels right to us
because that is the night Jesus was born.
That is why we don’t wait until Christmas morn.
She always gets something special for me.
Even if she doesn’t have much money to spend,
her thoughtful gifts are meant especially for me.
This Christmas she gave me a wonderful surprise.
She brought me a painting that is beautiful to my eyes.
It is the first acrylic painting she had ever done.
I told her from the beginning don’t sell it,
Mom wants that one.
It is so detailed that it amazes me,
that she can paint that good so easily.
I told her a couple of months ago,
If you ever get rid of that painting,
you know where and to whom it should go.
When I opened the present and saw what it was,
I got tears in my eyes from my gift that was of love.
It was the painting from her roof in Hollywood.
When I look at it, it makes me feel so good.
She said, “Mom,” when I go back home
and you are missing me,
just look at the painting
and you will be on the roof with me.
We hung it on the living room wall,
so I can look at the beauty of it all.
It reminds me of us being on the roof together
watching the sun go down.
Seeing the moon when it is full,
and the meteor showers in the sky all around.
It is the greatest present I could have received,
because when I look at it, I get the comfort I need.
It shows me my daughter’s talent and her love
and times we have shared on her Hollywood roof
looking at the beauty around and at the sky above.




Copyright by Judith Pleasant 1/7/2006