Christmas Apron, The (2018)

[bunniefuu]

In December of 1942,

the snow fell early

and deep in our town.

The drifts banked so

high, we could slide

right out our 2nd story windows

into soft powdery bliss.

Every chance we got,

we children flopped

into an untouched spot

to make snow angels.

Angelic signatures,

dad called them.

We had signed heaven's name

all over our little town.

My 11 year old heart was lit up

with the magical feeling

that all Christmas dreams

were sure to come true.

Then just a week

before Christmas,

an unexpected announcement came

at the end of dance class.

Attention, girls.

Since we won't be together again

until after the Christmas break,

I have an announcement.

Miss Millie, will you

please step forward?

You don't have to be

so terrified, dear.

I couldn't imagine

what she had called me out for.

Mistress Allen never

complimented her dancers.

I braced myself for

a public rebuke.

I want the entire

class to know

that you, Miss Millie, are ready

to dance on pointe.

My long awaited dream

of pink silky pointe shoes

came with a brand

jete into my mind.

Of course, it's

nearly impossible

to get into pointe shoes

what with the w*r shortages.

But, if by some miracle

you were able to get into

some by the new year,

you will be most certainly ready

to dance the Nutcracker

by next Christmas.

Nutcracker.

Mama, you'll never guess.

Mama.

Mom, dad, Millie, Grace, Will.

I did one more painting.

Please help me hang it, Millie.

I don't know where we can.

You filled every

bit of wall space.

There.

Alright, how 'bout this?

There.

Beautiful.

I'm out of paint.

Now you know what to ask

for your Christmas wish.

Where's mom?

Planning.

Dan, we don't

have a spare nickel

for gifts this year.

No money for Christmas?

Dennis, what about the children?

The children have

gone without so much,

you working nonstop

at the factory

and when you're home,

you're always

getting called away

to help another neighbor

with this or that

and now with their grandfather

serving overseas...

I know, I know,

it's the same in

every small town.

A heavy feeling

came into my heart,

sadness, hurt and anger

all mixed together.

It sent a cold shiver

right to my bones.

The pointe shoe

vision began to fade.

I wanted to pretend

I hadn't heard

or throw something or both.

Okay, my little

pirate, for you

have you eaten anything yet?

Take three bites.

The secret

worried me through dinner.

Mom and dad went on like

everything was normal

questioning us about

school and friends.

I couldn't stop thinking

about the disappointment

Christmas morning would bring

to me and my siblings.

Why did I have to be the oldest?

Beat you upstairs.

I'm not playing

your dumb games.

Fine, I'm telling

mom you called me dumb.

Princess Grace, I called her.

Our family royalty even

though she was only nine.

Sharing a room with her

would drive me crazy

again this night.

You okay sweetie?

No, I wasn't okay.

Why had I overheard my parents?

The smile I thought would

never leave my face was gone.

Yes.

Now don't stay up too late.

Grandma will be

here in the morning.

Good night, Mill.

Grandma would be

bringing the Christmas apron.

Grandma would fix everything.

I can't wait to see grandma.

Remember how she

toasted our socks

near the fireplace last year

so our feet would

be warm at night?

Remember that Mill,

remember when...

Go to sleep, Grace.

Not until you tell me

your Christmas apron wish.

I'm keeping mine secret.

No fair, we always

share our apron wishes.

Forget it, Princess Grace.

Doesn't matter,

I already know.

Really?

Mary Lou from your dance

class told me, pointe shoes.

Does everybody in this town

have to know everybody

else's business?

For your information,

it's a wish that will never

go in the apron pocket

because it's too expensive.

You don't think I know that?

There's a w*r going on.

Still, this is just a wish.

I know grandma's apron

really isn't magical

but I want to pretend

just one more year.

You didn't tell mother about

what Mary Lou said, did you?

Good, our little secret then.

Pointe shoes, it's

a wonderful wish.

If anyone deserves it, you do.

But if your wish

is too expensive,

my wish is way too expensive

for the Christmas apron.

What's your wish?

It's a secret, remember?

But I'll tell you anyways.

Are you ready?

A piano like the one

at grandma's house.

Oh Princess Grace.

With all the keys too.

And I'll run home from school

and practice for hours.

My fingers will

dance over the keys

just like you do on stage.

Wouldn't that be

wonderful, Mill?

Introducing the

amazing Caster Sisters,

wouldn't that be great?

It's a nice wish.

Too big for the

Christmas apron?

Maybe next year.

Mmhmm.

I felt heavy

and kind of sick to my stomach.

Was it Grace's sappy fantasy

or the knowledge that her

wish would never come true?

That darn tear.

My little sister's wish

was a whole soul wish.

Grandma!

At the end of his letter,

grandpa said he misses his

little angels very much

but he'll be home next

year in time for Christmas.

Grandma!

Oh, there's my ballerina.

Mmm.

Good morning, grandma.

Good morning?

More like good afternoon.

We were starting to

get worried about you.

Your daddy said we

should let you sleep.

Is daddy home?

Come and gone I'm afraid,

the Robertson's needed some

help with a leaky roof.

I miss daddy.

Well, since we're all here,

I think maybe it's time for...

The Christmas apron.

You took the words

right out of my mouth.

Ready grandma?

Yes, would you hand

me my suitcase, darling?

Here mommy, let me help you.

Oh, good girl, thank you.

You're welcome, grandma.

Let' see,.

Grandma.

Oh, there it is.

The Christmas apron.

Now, is this just any old

apron we wear around the house?

No grandma.

No, and do you know why?

Because this apron

is very special.

This apron has seen our

family through the hard times.

We've wiped tears

away from our faces,

it's shooed unwanted

chickens out of the kitchen.

It's carried tomatoes and apples

and even puppies in

from an early frost.

This apron,

well it's the last

thing to be seen

by those who we love

and we wave goodbye

from the porch.

Don't forget, it makes

Christmas wishes come true

like my p...

William,

if you tell, your

wish won't come true!

Whew, that was a close one.

Okay, listen very carefully,

the apron is going to

hang next to the fireplace

for one day.

So no later than

bedtime tomorrow,

because then we'll be just a

few days away from Christmas.

So don't be t*rd.

And until then,

our Christmas apron

will do nothing except

collect Christmas wishes.

And only one wish, mister.

Say, who wants to come with me

to deliver bread and

help widow Anderson

get ready for her move?

Me!

Go get your coats and mittens.

Come on, William, come on.

Wait for me, wait for me.

There we go.

Is grandpa doing well?

Oh, as well as can

be expected, dear.

What is it, Millie,

is everything alright?

Can you tell me the story now?

I can't wait till Christmas Eve

without grandpa being here.

You do seem a little anxious.

Is everything alright, Millie?

I'm worried about

mama and daddy.

I'm old enough to know

that Christmas costs money but...

Oh, I see.

You're growing up

too fast, Millie.

It was just last Christmas

you were solely focused

on your own wish.

But Christmas,

Christmas isn't about

what's happening around us.

It's about what's

happening inside of us

and I think Christmas is

happening inside of you,

Millie, my girl.

You know, aprons

are funny things

and I think most people

take them for granted.

But we know better.

But we know

better, that's right.

Aprons, they help us

do the most important

work there is, Millie

and that's why this

story is so important.

A long time ago before

you or I were born,

there lived a young

couple, Jed and Josie.

And on their wedding day,

they decided to move out

into the open country

where they could be closer

to God and to each other.

They left their city life,

they sold most of what they had,

packed up a wagon

and they headed out

for the open sea of grasses

known as the prairie lands.

Well their house, it wasn't much

but Josie she set to work

and she made it a home.

She took her city dresses

and she made curtains

and sheets and dish rags.

She even had some scraps

left over to make...

The Christmas apron.

Do you want to tell the story?

Anyway, she put

the scraps together

with ruffles and

ribbon to create...

Christmas apron.

An apron.

Now Jed, he didn't think

too much of the apron

but Josie she knew better

and every day, Josie's apron

helped her do many, many tasks.

It gave her a place

to wipe her hands

when she made

biscuits for supper,

it helped her carry in

vegetables from her garden

and wood from the wood mill

and on chilly nights,

she carried in new

puppies in from the barn

to sleep by the warm fire.

And when Jed would

go of to work,

she'd wave goodbye

to him with it.

And when he came back...

She'd wave him in.

Yes.

And the apron kept

her dresses clean

when guests came over

and she could shoo

chickens from the house

and it covered her tummy

when they were expecting.

Well, one night when

Jed had gone into town,

a terrible blizzard swept in

and Josie noticed that

Old Gal, the milk cow

had wandered off form her

pen scared of the storm.

So Josie followed the

hoof prints to a cave

where Old Gal had taken

shelter from the snow.

No sooner did she find Old Gal,

when pain shot through her

and she fell to the ground.

The baby was coming.

Yes, so Josie took the apron

and she hung it up outside of

the cave as high as she could

hoping that Jed would see it.

And then, she prayed her

Christmas wish out loud.

Father, please bring this baby

safely into the world.

Little did she know,

at that same moment,

Jed was saying the

exact same prayer.

And when he finished

and looked up,

he saw the apron

waving, waving him in,

it was like Josie was

waving him in for supper.

So running to the cave,

he got there just in time

to wrap up their new

baby in the apron.

So the young family,

they spent their first

Christmas in the cave

daddy, mommy, Old Gal and...

You grandma, you

were the new baby.

I was?

Do you think the apron

made their Christmas

wish come true?

Well, we didn't get

anything from Santa that year

but our gift came

straight from heaven.

You see, the apron doesn't

have special powers, Millie

but it did become a

symbol of our family.

Aprons, they help us do the

most important work there is,

family work,

the work that says I love you.

I wanted so

much to share the secret

but the words wouldn't come.

I had always believed in

grandma's Christmas apron.

This year, I would need

to believe a little more.

I won't be out late.

Don't wait up.

The most important

work, family.

My mother always said

when someone's in

need, we all pitch in.

The Lord counts on us to

pass around the blessings

and my father was the

greatest example of this.

Dear God, thank

you for my family

and for my father's

good example of service.

Thank you for my

mother's kindness to all.

Thank you for William's smile,

thank you that grandma

could be here for Christmas

and please protect

grandpa overseas.

Please help Grace and

me to be understanding

for what we cannot

have this year.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

Is daddy here?

I don't

know, I haven't seen him.

It's daddy.

Well, come on.

Let's go see if your

Christmas wishes came true.

Come on, let's go,

let's go, let's go.

- Let's go.

- Come on.

Grace, wait up, you're gonna

Look at that.

Merry Christmas.

What are we waiting for?

Which one is yours?

I think this one.

This one's William's.

Alright, grandma first.

Here you go, mom.

Merry Christmas.

Thank you, darling,

merry Christmas.

What did you get, grandma?

I don't know.

And to my love.

Oh, thank you.

Paint, this is

exactly what I wanted.

That's wonderful, William.

I can't wait to

see what you paint now.

And two special wishes

for my two very special girls.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas, daddy.

Millie, what is it?

My heart raced.

Had I made the wrong wish?

Had our family tradition

lost its magic?

There before my eyes

were the prettiest

pink pointe shows

I could ever have dreamed of.

How could this be?

Nobody had known.

The apron really is magical.

Except...

You gave your wish for me?

But what did you get, Grace?

Yes, Princess,

what did you get?

I'm sorry I told your wish.

I had to see your face when

you opened your wish, Mill.

A metronome?

That's not funny.

No it's not

but I think she's going to

need it for that piano of hers.

What do we have here?

Millie, you're the

only one who knew.

You gave your wish away for me

just like I did for you.

Oh thank you, Millie.

Daddy, it needs some tuning.

Well, I'm not

going anywhere today

so let's see what we have.

Let's hear it.

That was improbable,

impossible.

I want to know

how this happened.

The Christmas apron, Millie.

Well, suffice it to say

there are angels

in our little town.

That's the magic that

happened this Christmas.

And because your parents

are always thinking of others,

not just during the hard times,

the dozens of loaves of bread

your mom has delivered

and your daddy's willingness

to always help someone in need

shoveling or fixing a

car, mending a roof.

But still, pointe

shoes and a piano

in the middle of a w*r

with not even a nickel to spare.

Sorry mama, I overheard.

The piano was a miracle.

Widow Anderson had a piano

and she didn't want to take

it with her in the move.

She asked if we could

find a good use for it.

But what about the shoes?

Well, let's just say

that Mistress Allen

thinks the world

of her star pupil

and would go to the

ends of the Earth

to make sure you're ready

for the Nutcracker next year.

So we all got our whole

could wishes this year?

Especially me.

Now remember, Millie,

where the gifts came from

is our little secret.

We already know mama,

it's the Christmas apron.

The apron is a

symbol of our family.

And you're going to

have a Christmas apron

of your own one day

with that attitude.

Thank you, dear.

Are you coming?

For?

The amazing Caster Sisters.

Really?

Come here.

I learned a valuable lesson

that Christmas that has stuck

with me through the years,

aprons help us do the most

important work of all,

family work,

the work that says I love you.