A Cedar Chest Filled With Christmas Letters And Precious Memories

During the summer my daughters Jackie, Melanie, Sally and I love to search yard sales. We never know what we will find while we are out. We find holiday decorations all the time. We have a special tote we keep out in the garage for holiday items we find. My husband Drew always laughs when he sees us loading Christmas decorations around in July. It doesn’t bother any of us girls, we don’t understand how anyone can have too many decorations for the holidays.

This summer we found a huge neighborhood yard sale. We walked up and down the streets keeping our eyes open for any treasure we might want to take home. Jackie found a fountain to put on top of her dresser. Sally squealed in delight when she spotted a small plastic aquarium she could use to put lighting bugs or butterflies in. Melanie picked out a few books here and there. I found a few Christmas ornaments and a set of new Santa Christmas cards.

Our little wagon started to really fill up. We were on our way back to the car when I saw an old hope chest holding up a set of tires. I asked the man in the driveway if the hope chest was for sale and if I could get a better look at it. He rolled the tires out of the way so I could open the lid. It was full of newspapers, old Christmas letters from Santa, and photos. The man said everything in the chest went with it. He told me he had found the chest in the basement when he bought the house.

Once we had the chest at home the girls and I couldn’t wait to see what was inside. I told the girls to keep their eye out for any full names that might be on any of the letters from Santa. I was sure someone out there would like the return of the photos and letters. The girls and me spent hours reading the letters and looking at the photos. We recognized some of the places in our town and were surprised by the dramatic changes that had occurred in such a short time. Finally we found an envelope with a full name.

After searching we tracked down Mrs. Maple Hardin. She had tears in her eyes when we delivered the photos and letters to her. She said the return of the Christmas cards was the best gift she had ever received. It made my girls and me feel real good to give back something so precious. Mrs. Hardin said looking at the photos brought back memories she had long ago forgotten.