A Christmas Disappointment
Written by Loraite (Rossman) Teays

December 1984

    When I was born in 1917 I had a sixteen-year-old girl cousin. My mother had helped my Auntie Mae to name this girl, so she decided that my second name would also be "Loraite" and I was known by my second name.

     My cousin and I became very close. I even took part, in her High School Graduation Ceremony, when I was only three months old.  She always remembered my birthday, Christmas, Easter Children's Day and any special day, with a card and lovely gilt. I was only twelve years old when she gave me her gold graduation watch. It was my very first wristwatch and I was very thrilled and happy, she was sort of like a God Mother to me.

     I spent many wonderful one and two week summer vacations at my cousin's home, in Detroit, which included another cousin and Auntie Mae and Uncle Dan. When cousin Loraite was older, she worked downtown Detroit, in the "Free Press building", She would take me down town shopping, to the theatre, out to dinner and once to the opera. When I went back home to the farm, I would always have some new clothes and a lovely" special gift," One time it was a gold ring, with my name engraved on it, which I still wear. Another time, it was a little gold ring with a genuine African diamond.

     As my cousin worked downtown, she would often go shopping, on her lunch hour, at Hudson's Department store. Many times I have received a package in the mail that had been mailed direct from the 5tore. It was very exciting for this little girl, living on a farm, near Metamora.

     One Christmas when I was eight or nine years old, a package arrived for me, a few days before Christmas, it had been mailed from Hudson's. I had been told to look for my Christmas package in the mail, but not to open it until the big day. The package was about the size of a shoebox and had quite tinkling sound to it. Everyone in my family was trying to guess what would be in it, on Christmas Day. It had been carefully wrapped in a Christmas box and then inserted into a cardboard carton. When I got down to the fancy box, it showed the picture of a beautiful glass bedside water pitcher with matching glass. The two pieces were beautifully decorated, with hand painted flowers and the glass fit upside down, on the pitcher.

    Imagine my disappointment, when I opened the box and saw that it was all broken in dozens of pieces. My tears began to flow and it took my mother a few minutes to calm me down. She then explained to me, that the package had been insured and she would notify the store, for a replacement. It took a few weeks to get it all straightened out, and finally I received another bedside pitcher and glass, although it was a different design.

     After all these years I can remember all this and laugh about it, but it took quite a long time to forget the disappointment of a young girl, many years ago.

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