Her name is Meg.
Author Stacie McGeever
She wears a wedding band and two hearing aids. “She’s hard of hearing,” whispers the little lady who hands me her paperwork. I discover she’s thirty-three. She strikes me as a gentle soul, and she is. But as we walk slowly around the warehouse together, her story unfolds and I’m struck also by her fierce determination and quiet strength of character. I’m at the Henrico Christmas Mother, a non-profit that provides new clothes, toys, books and food to 6,000 County residents each season. Volunteers are invited to be “Personal Shoppers” walking through the warehouse with each recipient as he/she selects gifts for their loved ones.
With each neatly categorized table came one more exchange of gifts. Some gifts fit into our shopping cart; there were socks and gloves, toys and games, books and toiletries. But others weren’t quite so tangible. They came in the form of story and of our hearts connecting, of understanding and care, of inspiration and gratefulness.
In the children’s book section, she bee-lined it to the teenager table even though her oldest son was only eleven. He was so smart, she said, that he had tested right out of his last middle school. “I am really, really proud of him,” she told me with a smile that would have said it all.
And when we got to the “grown-ups” book table, she noted casually that she had never known how to read. Until recently, when she taught herself. “I couldn’t hear my teachers in school,” she said, “but I wanted to be able to help my kids.” So she and her kindergarten son learned to read together, and now she was skimming the backs of novels and choosing the thickest.
Next up was the toy table, where Meg was both thoughtful and decisive. It was obvious she knew and loved each of her four children intimately, and she told me how she’s getting creative this year and enjoying the Christmas season more than ever. From clipping coupons to scouring thrift stores, “I figured out I’ve gotten more than $800 worth of presents for my kids but stayed under my $200 budget,” she told me. And when she picked up a dollhouse chair for her daughter, she explained how she’s been searching for random dollhouse items all over town, and has handpainted each of the delicate pieces to transform them into beautiful matching sets. What a labor of love. One day her daughter will realize.
By the time we finished our shopping list, I wanted to walk right out of that warehouse together and be friends. I wanted to drive to a coffee shop and just keep listening. I wanted to pour encouragement into her heart and tell her what an incredible woman she is. Did she have any idea? She was so beautiful in her quiet strength, and had the kind of spirit you want to be near.
Not once did she seek validation, blame the system, or protect her pride by explaining how she ended up as a low-income “Christmas Mother.” She’s walked a very long road, and has been broken along the way. She has stumbled but kept walking, and she has a very rare joy to show for it.
We parted ways with a humble and grateful hug, full of understanding that didn’t need words.
I left that day with tired feet and a full heart. We are all just people, and we all just need the deep love that goes beyond presents. For that profound and simple gift, my heart is grateful.
While not a “Richmond Mom” herself, 25yo Stacie McGeever is a former nanny extraordinaire, and also serves on the Student Ministry staff at Hope Church. She currently works at CarMax in the Recruiting Department, the corporate team with whom she visited Henrico Christmas Mother this year. Check out her design blog dabbling at http://www.dailydelighting.
