Image by Zanastardust via Flickr

It was a cold and snowy night. There was a little girl sitting in her bedroom window, watching snow flakes fall to the ground. She had a sad look on her face as she thought about her father who was on a naval deployment.
“Alright, Paige it’s time for bed”, her mother said as she stood in the middle of Paige’s doorway. Paige turned around to look at her mother.
“Five more minutes please”, Paige begged.
“No, it’s time to go to bed now”, her mother answered.

Paige said sadly, “Okay” and climbed into bed. Paige called her mother, “Hey, Mom”.
“Yes, Sweetie. What is it?” her mother responded.
“Is Daddy going to be home in time for Christmas”, Paige asked.
“I don’t know for sure yet but, we could ask Santa in a letter”, her mother answered.
“Can we write a letter to Santa right now”, Paige asked.
“No, tomorrow morning will be better after we have plenty of rest”, her mother answered.

“When in the morning”, Paige asked.
“After we eat breakfast and get dressed”, her mother answered.
“I can’t wait to ask Santa to have Daddy home for Christmas”, Paige said.
“Me too but right now it’s time to go to sleep”, her mother said.
“I guess so”, Paige said as she gave her mother a hug and a kiss good night.
“Good night, Sweetie”, her mother said at the doorway.
“Good night”, Paige said as her mother turned off the light.

With the morning sun in her face, Paige woke up to her mother cooking in the kitchen. Paige sat up in her bed and smelled the eggs, sausages and toast. She remembered her father’s breakfast sandwiches that he makes for them. From time to time, he would fry eggs, sausages and put them in between toast. She climbed out of her bed and put her slippers on her feet. Paige walked to her bedroom door, opened it, and walked to the kitchen.

“Good morning”, Paige said.
“Good morning, Sweetie”, her mother said.
“Are you making Daddy’s breakfast sandwiches”, Paige asked.
“Why yes I am”, her mother answered.
“I’m so happy that you’re making them”, Paige said as she helped her mother put the sandwiches together. They both brought them to the table and sat down to eat. Her mother had gotten back up to grab the orange juice and returned to the table.

“Thank you for breakfast, Mom. It was very good”, Paige said.
“You’re welcome, Sweetie. I’m glad that you liked it”, her mother said.
“Can I help you clear the table”, Paige asked. That was the only thing she could help her mother with. Paige really wanted to help with more things to feel like a big girl.
“Sure you can, Sweetie”, her mother answered as she placed two small glasses into the sink.
“Yay!”, Paige said with excitement. She grabbed the paper plates off the table, walked over to the trash can and threw them away.

As her mother washed the dishes, Paige went to her bedroom to get dressed. When her mother finished with the dishes, Paige came out of her bedroom all dressed. As her mother grabbed a paper ,pencil, envelope and a stamp, Paige walked over to the table.
“Are you ready to write to Santa”, her mother asked as Paige sat down.
“I sure am! I know that Santa can make sure that Daddy is home in time for Christmas”, Paige answered. She grabbed a holiday decorated pencil and wrote to Santa. She finished writing her letter and placed it in the stamped envelope.
“Alright, let’s go put your letter to Santa in the mailbox”, her mother said.

Paige ran to the living room closet to put her pink boots and coat on. Her mother also put on her black boots and coat. They both walked out the front door and shut it behind them. There was fresh snow from the night before covering some ice on the ground. They carefully walked to the mailbox at the end of the driveway and placed the envelope in. Then holding hands they returned back to the house. They opened the door, walked in and took off their coats and boots. Her mother made hot chocolate and they watched classic Christmas movies.

Here it was Christmas Eve and Paige’s father still wasn’t home from his deployment. Paige really wanted her father home by now. She walked to the office where her mother was writing her book. Paige opened the door and asked her mother, “Mom, why isn’t Daddy home yet”?  
“He should be home soon, Sweetie”, her mother answered. She saw that Paige’s eyes were filled up with tears. Paige ran to her mother’s arms which were opened for a hug.

“It’s not fair! Why do we have to be without Daddy?” Paige said as she was crying.
“We’re not without Daddy, Sweetie. He’s coming back to us”, her mother answered.
“But it feels like Daddy is never coming home”, Paige said hopelessly.
“Why don’t we go see Santa at the mall?”, her mother suggested. They both got in the car, drove to the mall and waited in line to see Santa. Paige walked up to Santa and sat on his lap.
“What would you like for Christmas little girl”, Santa asked.
“What I want more than any toy is for my Daddy to be home”, Paige answered sadly.

“Please I know you can make this happen”, Paige begged. Santa looked up at her mother with sadness upon his face. Paige jumped down from Santa’s lap and walked over to her mother. They had gotten into the car, drove home, ate dinner and went to bed. In the morning, Paige woke up to her father kissing her forehead.
“Hey, Princess”, her father said.
“Daddy!”, Paige screamed as she hugged him tight. Her father carried her to the living room where her mother was. They all sat down in front of the lit up Christmas tree and opened up their gifts together.