“What happened to them?” Jake asked.

“Their father died and they lost everything Jake, they ended up on the streets. They didn’t have a home.” His mother said.

“But, then where did they live? Did they go to school, what did they eat?” Jake asked, forgetting about the gifts and completely focused on the family in the photograph.

“They had a home. It might not be as big as ours but they had love for each other and that’s what made their cardboard box a home.” His mother smiled as she sat down.

“Cardboard box? They lived in a box?” Jake asked, stunned.

“Yes, they were poor Jake. But they were happy.” His mother said, smiling.

“Happy? How? They had nothing.” Jake could not understand it.

“They knew that one day everything would work out. They didn’t stay in that box. The lady you see there, went to open her own business selling homemade carrot cakes and became very popular. She made enough money to get an apartment and now she has a mansion. Those two kids in the picture, that young boy is now a lawyer, he never stopped going to school even when he had no cars to play with or friends.” His mother said, with a proud face.

“Just like Uncle Pat and Ma, they’re the same, mom!” Jake said in surprise.

“Yes,” his mother laughed, “very much the same indeed.”

“But what about the little girl in the photo?” Jake asked.

“She became a wife and a mother and she also became a teacher.” His mother winked at him.

“Mom! That’s you!” Jake couldn’t believe his ears.

“Yes, Jake. I lived in that cardboard box that you complained about. I had nothing but that box. Nothing to eat and no toys to play with, but I had my family and they were enough for me.” His mother said.

“Tell him what else you had,” his father said coming from the kitchen.

“I knew what Christmas is truly about.” She said, looking into her sons’ eyes.

Jake was in tears by now. He ran to his mother and hugged her.

“Mommy, I want to find more people living in boxes and I want to give them what I have.”

Jake collected all the toys he didn’t play with and made food packages with his mother, they then drove to town handing it out.

“This box truly is the best gift ever. Christmas isn’t about me, mom, it was never about me.” He said as he watched the smiles and tears of the homeless receiving their gifts.

Jake and his family then drove to church and he smiled at the baby Jesus portrayed in front of him.

*****

Tell us: What does Christmas mean to you?