A return to the "Good Old Days"

Good Old Days

"Shoe Boxes of Pennies"

by Mildred Olson

Two sisters, ages 8 and 11, anticipating Christmas, had saved every penny they had earned by doing simple tasks for their Mama, Papa, and a few times for the rich lady who lived in the neighborhood.

Each night at bedtime, they would quietly pull out their stash of hidden money to check on how many more pennies were needed to buy the cute little teapot they had asked the lady at the store to put in back until they could pay for it.  They asked the same for the black hair brush they had selected for their Papa, so he could brush his thick, black hair.

At the same time, they had asked the manager of the store if he would give them one small and one longer shoe box.  He sort of chuckled, as he gave them exactly what they had asked for.

As soon as they got home, they started using their watercolors and painted both boxes, inside and out: One pink for Mama and brown for their Papa.  All of this took time away from their job hunting. Surprisingly, the weather cooperated.  It snowed!  They had as many jobs as they could do, shoveling snow from sidewalks until their arms and shoulders were so sore they could not shovel even one more snowflake.

But these jobs earned them enough to pay for the gifts they had worked so hard for. They packed their boxes with cotton, snitched from their Mama’s sewing drawer, and wrapped it around the teapot.  Nothing was needed in the brown box.  They hid the boxes and quickly climbed into bed, and then were immersed in a deep sleep of satisfaction.  Christmas was still a week away and they were ready.

Oh!  Those were the good old days, of shoe boxes of pennies.

Originally published in The Payson Chronicle December 11, 2013.