Not a Whisper Moment Just a sweet family memory
I Woke With This Memory Of A Holiday Long A Go
The Mistletoe Branch
One Christmas, when the boys were about eleven and twelve, it was just William and Benjermen and me. Timothy and Megan were with their dad that year, so it was our small trio holding the holiday together.
I told the boys a story about my father — how once, when I was little, we climbed a tree together and gathered mistletoe. We tied ribbons around the little bundles, sealed them in baggies, and sold them for a dollar or two to make extra money for Christmas. My dad wasn’t a man of means, but he was rich in ingenuity. He always found a way to provide, and that lesson stayed with me.
Later that week, the boys asked what mistletoe was for. I told them about the tradition — how people hang it up, and whenever a man and woman pass under it, they’re supposed to kiss.
A few days later, I came home from work and nearly dropped my purse.
There stood William and Benjermen, both straining under the weight of the largest branch I had ever seen in my life — thick, heavy, and absolutely covered in mistletoe.
“Where in the world did you get that?” I asked.
They explained they had climbed a tree, just like in the story, and the branch had snapped. The farmer saw them struggling and asked what they were doing. When they told him about their grandpa and me selling mistletoe for Christmas, he let them keep the whole thing.
Then I asked, “So… are you boys planning to sell it?”
They shook their heads.
“No,” they said. “It’s your Christmas present. We wanted to give you lots of kisses.”
My heart just about burst right out of my chest.
We mounted that giant branch across the wide doorway between the living room and dining room. It was ridiculous. It was impractical. It was perfect.
Every time I crossed under it, one of those boys would appear out of nowhere and plant a kiss on my cheek.
It wasn’t really about mistletoe.
It was about love.
And that was the sweetest Christmas gift I ever received.
From My quiet Heart To Yours…
— Spring Lynn Booth
http://whispers-in-the-quiet.org
Email: Hopeministries2010@yahoo.com
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Whispers In The Quiet 
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