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home and celebrate Christmas Day with<br />
my family.<br />
That morning, I vomited before opening<br />
my presents, but I was still grateful<br />
I was in the comfort of my own home.<br />
I wouldn’t have to spend such a heartwarming,<br />
beloved holiday in the cheerless<br />
and void hospital.<br />
Other kids, some of whom were my<br />
comrades for the few years I was treated<br />
for my illness, were not so lucky. They had<br />
to stay in the hospital, and some went<br />
without presents. Who could blame their<br />
parents? It was excruciatingly expensive<br />
to have an illness like cancer, even with<br />
insurance. It was hard for even my parents<br />
to pay the piling bills and provide<br />
the wonderful Christmas I always have.<br />
Also, with your child always being in the<br />
hospital or needing attention due to their<br />
medical needs, your job gets harder to<br />
maintain.<br />
Christmas. The one day of the year<br />
where everyone seems happy, at least<br />
when you’re home.<br />
One year, as Christmas drew nearer,<br />
a charitable group a few of my friends<br />
and I started, the Reach Out Committee,<br />
sought people in need of help. Since<br />
my family is always mindful during the<br />
holiday of people who are affected by<br />
cancer and other terminal illnesses —<br />
specifically Nemours, a pediatric hospital<br />
that authorized most of my treatment<br />
— we offered to give toys to children<br />
who had none on Christmas morning.<br />
So it began. Packages upon packages<br />
of brand-new toys piled into our school.<br />
The jolly season had opened the hearts<br />
of parents and children, and they gave<br />
until they could give no longer. On the<br />
first day of Christmas break, more than<br />
200 toys were wheeled into Nemours,<br />
all decorated with bows and ribbons by<br />
the Reach Out Committee. It filled me<br />
with much more happiness than presents<br />
given to me on Christmas morning<br />
ever could. It reminded me, as it should<br />
everyone, that giving is infinitely better<br />
than receiving. Christmas is about giving<br />
back to those who aren’t as lucky as you.<br />
Honorable Mention<br />
A Mouse’s Best Christmas<br />
by Terran Davidson<br />
Crown Point Springs<br />
'Twas the night before Christmas and<br />
all through the house, not a creature was<br />
stirring except one little mouse.<br />
Jack Mouse peeked out of his<br />
hole and saw a beautiful sight. The<br />
Christmas tree was lit for the night. It<br />
was very tall and trimmed with iridescent<br />
ornaments and a glistening star on<br />
top. Other ornaments were shaped like<br />
bells, candy canes and cute Christmas<br />
elves.<br />
Jack wanted to see the ornaments<br />
at the very top of the tree. He climbed<br />
and climbed. The tree smelled fresh. The<br />
needles were prickly. Lights with bright<br />
colors hung on the branches. The only<br />
sound he heard was the rustling of his<br />
feet and the ticking of the grandfather<br />
clock.<br />
Jack reached the top of the tree<br />
with a grin on his face and stared at<br />
the beautiful star. Just then, the clock<br />
struck midnight. Jack jumped and<br />
caught his tail in the wires of the lights.<br />
Strange noises from the room scared<br />
him. Soot fell into the fireplace. Jack<br />
struggled to get untangled, when a big<br />
jolly man appeared from the cloud of<br />
soot.<br />
Jack kicked and knocked off one of the<br />
ornaments, which landed with a crash<br />
on the floor. The big man turned quickly<br />
and looked up.<br />
“Ho, ho, ho!” he said. “I’ll get you<br />
down.”<br />
He untangled Jack and set him down<br />
gently on the floor. With a grin, the man<br />
said his name was Santa, and he gave<br />
Jack a tiny, glittering package with a<br />
bow tie.<br />
“Wait until the morning,” he told Jack.<br />
“Thank you,” Jack said and scurried<br />
back to bed, holding the package.<br />
His family smiled and told him to open<br />
it. His mother gasped.<br />
“What a glorious sight!”<br />
They were so happy, their eyes filled<br />
with delight.<br />
“This is the best Christmas! A cheesecake,<br />
what a present!”<br />
Jack’s little sister asked him where he<br />
got the cake, and Jack said, “It’s a long<br />
story. I’ll tell it all while we eat.”<br />
Honorable Mention<br />
Winter<br />
by Xavier Matias<br />
Winter Garden<br />
One of my favorite seasons of the<br />
year is winter. I like winter because of<br />
www.SouthwestOrlandoBulletin.com x December 21, 2017 - January 3, 2018 x 27<br />
CONTINUED ON PAGE 28<br />
New Year's Eve<br />
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2017<br />
Toast to the beginning of a New Year!<br />
Enjoy a five course meal including appetizer,<br />
salad, entrée and bubbly with a holiday<br />
dessert sampler and all of the party favors<br />
$65 PER ADULT<br />
Tax and gratuity not included.<br />
Reservations are recommended, starting at 5:30pm<br />
PLEASE CALL (407) 239-1999<br />
GrandCypress.com | One North Jacaranda, Orlando, FL
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