The mailman had arrived, and Laney and her mother opened the letter from Petty Officer Josh Logan. His handwriting scrawled across the notebook page. 

Dearest Johanna and my baby girl Laney,

  My ship is on its way to the coast of Iraq.The stars are out tonight and look amazingly bright. My buddies and I have put up a small ceramic tree in our quarters. I have placed my present next to the tree and will wait until Christmas day to open it. Thank you for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers. I loved the picture you sent, Laney.The Nativity looks just like ours. I've hung it on the wall next to my tree. Santa will surely bring you lots of presents this year since you have been such a good girl. I mailed something for both of you too, and hope you get it in time for Christmas. I love you. I miss you. As I write I am holding your pictures and I am wishing I could give you both a huge hug and a kiss. But, as you already know, I have chosen to be here because of you two. When I get back I’ll give you extras!

 Love you with all my heart,

 Josh

Johanna folded the note and placed it back in the envelope. She held it close to her heart and knew she had to be strong for her precious little girl. The holidays were such a hard time to be strong though. She missed her husband. Johanna didn’t want to be without Josh, not now. 

“Mommy, can we put up our tree? Please, today? Daddy has his up.”

Johanna looked at Laney. Taking a deep breath, she sighed. “Okay sweetie, let’s go get the decorations out of the hall closet.”

Laney charged for the door and looked inside the closet. She pulled the plywood box out and dragged it to the living room. She was just six and a half years old, and Johanna watched Laney as she un-wrapped all the figurines in the nativity.

“Honey, be careful.”

“I’m fixing the baby Jesus, Mommy.”

“Okay, but please be careful. My mommy gave them to me when I married Daddy. The Nativity is old and the pieces are very fragile. I remember fixing the baby Jesus when I was your age…and I had to be very careful, too.” 

“Okay Mommy, I just want to fix the straw in his bed. A-choo,” Laney sneezed, “Is this straw very old, too?” 

“God bless you! Yes, sweetheart, it is. I think it’s the original. My goodness that straw must be thirty something years old. Try not to disturb it too much; maybe it will last a little while longer.” 

“Did you fix the straw when you were little?” 

“Yes, as a matter a fact, I did. Ummm…I think I sneezed too.” Laney and her mom laughed, and then Laney silently stared at the baby Jesus. 

“Tell me, Mommy. Tell me the story again.  The one about baby Jesus.” 

“Okay. I was very little, just like you. I think it was probably about four days before Christmas and my mommy, your grandma, brought out the Christmas decorations. I was very excited to see the old boxes of lights and ornaments and the very special star that went on the very tip top of the tree. While my mommy and my sisters and I waited for Grandpa to come home with a Christmas tree, we found our stockings, tinsel, and the blanket that would go around the base of the tree. The thrill and anticipation of all the gifts that would surround the tree had us giggling and, jumping around with delight."

I remember our dogs barked and ran towards Grandpa as he headed up the driveway to our home, letting us know the tree was coming. We all laughed and cheered with glee, as we stood on the porch in anticipation. We could hear Grandpa’s boots making crunching sounds as he walked down the long narrow path. The snow glistened and the moon let his shadow be seen. The tree was held high on his broad shoulders and the vapor of each breath let us know this was not an easy chore. Grandpa whistled a Christmas tune as he approached, and Grandma shouted, “Open the door, let your dad through." 

Grandpa groaned a bit on the steps.  He stomped each of his boots to remove the packed on snow, then forced his way through the front door. He stood the tree up, and Grandma helped him adjust the tree stand. Grandpa stood back and while taking off his gloves and hat, smiled, “Ah, that was a lot of work, but I’m glad I picked this one. What a beauty! Must be eight feet tall! Easily fifty pounds.  Kids can you smell the pine scent?”  

“My dad took a deep breath and we all did the same.  It was wonderful; the smell was such a part of our memories and a delight to our senses. Christmas excitement, the songs, and baking lots of cookies, eating warm breads and soups… family. Those were good times, indeed.” 

“Mommy, please tell me about the baby Jesus, too.” 

“Of course dear, I was getting to that, just saving the best part for last. We all decorated the tree, and when Grandpa turned on the lights, we gazed in amazement. Grandma made hot chocolate, and we ate homemade peanut butter cookies. We placed the gingerbread men on the tree branches, and the family all sat around enjoying the beautiful, glittering holiday décor. ” Laney smiled, picturing that peaceful portrayal of Christmas her mommy described. 

“Where was the manger? Did you set it up by the tree?” 

“Well at that time, Grandpa had always told us the reason we celebrated Christmas was because our Lord Jesus was born that day. That it was fun to celebrate, and have a tree and good food, but we always had to know the real reason for such a glorious day. Grandpa would sit in his old chair near the tree and open up his Bible. The thin, red bookmark would dangle from the opened Bible, and he would carefully remove his reading glasses from their case. Grandpa would take his little white cloth and clean his eyeglasses slowly. He’d look at each one of us, and with just a slightly upturned mouth, he’d make sure his angels were ready to listen to his reading. Placing his glasses on, he’d then turn to just the right page in the gospel of Luke and begin, ‘and it came to pass in those days…..’ 

“Grandma sat next to Grandpa with an old wooden box upon her lap. She carefully un-wrapped each figure from the crinkled newsprint that safeguarded each piece. As Grandpa told the story of the birth of our savior, she handed them to him. With such grace and carefulness, He'd set them out on the table that stood next to his chair: the crèche, the straw, Mary and Joseph, the manger and baby Jesus. He read of the Shepards that heard the angel sing, and how they traveled to Bethlehem. Then of the wise men that followed the one bright star, bringing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. As he continued, the Nativity allowed us to picture that Holy night and the spirit of Jesus’ birth and the true meaning of Christmas. Grandma, my sisters, and I listened to the story and the spirit of Christmas was revealed.” Johanna paused for a moment and then barely spoke out loud, “And unto us this day, in the city of Bethlehem, a child is born. Hallelujah, Christ our savior….” 

Johanna swept a tear from her eye. She wanted Laney to have  memories like this with her Dad, too.

Laney looked at the Nativity. “I like the story, Mommy. Daddy said I’ve been very good this year, and Santa will bring lots of gifts. But you know what I really want?”

Johanna looked at Laney and thought about the letter they had written to Santa weeks earlier. “What dear? What do you really want?” 

Laney’s small hand reached in to gently take the baby Jesus out of his manger. Holding the tiny figure close to her lips, she kissed the baby’s head. Whispering she said, “I love you, baby Jesus. All I want is…”

Johanna could see Laney's down-turned mouth and knew what she was feeling. Her heart ached for her little girl...and herself. Johanna didn't know how they could get through the holiday's without Josh. Then she thought about the star of Bethlehem. "Laney...come with me!" They put on their jackets  and headed  out to the back yard.

"Mommy, what are we doing?"

"Laney, remember in Daddy's letter...He said the stars were amazingly bright. Look up there! That's got to be one of the stars daddy could see from his ship.One bright star....I bet he is looking at that really bright one, right now... With us!" Johanna whispered, "Merry Christmas , Josh."

Laney took her hand and blew a kiss,"Merry Christmas Daddy."

Note from Author: Remember to say a prayer  for all  our men and women that are in the armed services ... that they will return soon, to their loving families. And  don't forget, when you see 'one bright star' a salute to our finest.

A sailors wife (vietnam 1966-1969)

Valerie Anne Faulkner