Posted on 12/24/2017 8:57:26 AM PST by OneVike
Many years ago, shortly before Christmas, there was a young boy named Ricky. His father had to go away for awhile, and so his family had to move to another part of the city where his mom could be closer to the place where she worked.
It was far away from the neighborhood Ricky new and the friends he left behind, but soon he met a new friend who lived near by.
It was the day before Christmas, with fresh snow on the ground and Christmas music playing on the radio. His older sisters were helping mom bake Christmas cookies while his brothers were playing a game of cards in the living room.
Ricky's new friend came over to see if he wanted to go sledding. He asked his mom and she said he could, but not to stay out past dark. He grabbed his sled and headed to a hill in a park that was not too far from the apartment complex.
They spent the afternoon sledding, building snowmen, and even got into a playful snowball fight with some other boys in the neighborhood. They had so much fun they lost track of the time. All of a sudden the street lights came on and Ricky told his friend he had to go home.
They said their goodbyes and each boy headed into opposite directions to their home. As he headed in the direction of the building where he lived, he looked back where the hill was and his new friend had already disappeared out of site.
Ricky was hungry, and looked forward to those Christmas cookies his mom and sisters were baking. Nothing like some hot cocoa and cookies to warm up with after a great day of sledding.
The closer he got to the apartment complex the more he realized all the buildings looked alike. Even the cars all looked the same with the fresh snow on them. It was quiet, and Ricky didn't recognize anything. There wasn't anyone else outside, not even his brothers or sisters.
Ricky's ears and feet were getting colder by the minute. He continued trudging thorough the snow, pulling his sled from building to building. Soon he started to panic as he kept looking for anything familiar.
The sidewalks weren't shoveled. The streets weren't plowed. It was getting darker and darker. To make matters even worse, it started to snow again.
Ricky's heart sank into his chest as he realized he was completely lost. He was scared, cold, hungry, and lonely. He sat down on the steps of one of the buildings, and wondered if he would ever see his mom and family again. He would miss Christmas and no one would want him and his life would be over.
Sitting all hunched up to keep warm, with his head into his gloved hands, Ricky began to cry.
Soon, all he could hear was the noise of his own crying.
Suddenly a faint voice broke through his misery. He heard a woman softly asking him what was wrong. Ricky tried to talk, but his nose was running and he couldn't stop crying. The lady sat down next to him, and asked again,
“What's wrong? Why are you crying?”
He finally calmed down enough to answer,
“I can't find my home. We just moved here, and I'm lost”
The lady put her arm around him, pulled him into her chest, and said to him,
“Ricky. This is your home, and you are sitting on our steps.”
Ricky then recognized the voice. It was his mother. He turned and looked at the most beautiful face he had ever seen. Jumping up, he grabbed his mom around her neck, and hugged her tightly.
His tears turned to joy. He wasn't lost after all!
His mom held him tight and gave him a loving hug that turned all his fears into happiness. He was home with his family, on Christmas Eve.
Thanks.
What is the name of your daughters book?
Is this your way of making fun of playing cards?
Haha. I swear Laz will make fun of anything.
You do not need to be good at drawing. It could be stick people. Keep it simple. Kids only need a hint of an image for a story to come alive in their heads.
**My point was that kids today can’t relate to normal life from generations past.**
That’s not exactly true. Depends on who the kids are. If the target audience is children from the ‘hood....they would relate perfectly.
Kids from *whiteburbia*, maybe not so much. Jes sayin’. :)
Thank you.
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