Christmas Magic Came in a Pink Star
🎄 My stubborn determination could've also helped
The Sonoran Desert gets cold in the winter.
After the sun sets, the temperatures plummet and will often settle near freezing. Residents cover up the plants in their yards so they don't freeze, and the air is always a shock to your system when you step outside.
The swing from the daily high temperature to the low is about 30 degrees, so the cold always surprises you. It's like stepping into a shower you think is hot, but the water has yet to warm up. The cold makes you jump.
The Sonoran Desert region stretches from the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, to a portion of the southwestern United States.
I'm from the Sonoran Desert. I'm from Tucson, Arizona.
A Christmas I'll always remember started out freezing in the desert.
The Contest
December was always a hectic month. Yes, the holidays are always crazy, but my birthday is about a week before Christmas. My mom had this rule: we would only decorate for Christmas after my birthday.
She was adamant. So, that's how it was.
You don't question that stuff as a kid; you roll with it.
My birthday was over, and we were racing to get a tree and decorate the house. Let's do this holiday thing already. You know how it is. There's never enough daylight, and there's always one more errand to run. Layers of clothes are piled on, so you don't freeze as the sun dips below the horizon.
We stopped at a small tree lot near our house to choose our favorite tree. We got a beautiful one - we always did. On our way out, the employees told us they were hosting a coloring contest. They handed me a piece of paper with a Christmas tree to color.
My brother is a bit older, so he walked away uninterested.
Besides, coloring was never his thing.
The prize was a Toys R Us gift certificate. I was going to win. I knew it.
I took that paper home, and I got to work. I pulled out every marker I could find and chose my colors wisely. The star at the top was begging to be colored yellow, but I didn't give in. I found this unique dark pink and decided that was it.
My star would be a dusty-rose color.
Was it Enough to Win?
For days I begged my mom to drive me back to the tree lot, so I could turn in my perfectly colored Christmas tree. (I can be persistent). My mom, busy with her full-time job, and my older brother, finally relented. She took me back, and I handed over the carefully colored conifer. My name and phone number were printed neatly on the back.
A few days went by, and I finished school for the winter. I was focused on the presents under the tree and sleeping in, but I still remembered the contest.
Late one afternoon, I rounded the corner into the kitchen as my mom hung up the phone mounted to the wall. She looked me dead in the eyes and said, "You won. You won that coloring contest. I can't believe it."
"I told you so! I told you so! I knew my tree was good!" I exclaimed.
"You sure did." She replied. "You were right! They even said they liked your star.”
My mom grabbed her coat. It was puffy and purple. It stretched to her ankles and made a swooshing sound as she walked. We both bundled up and headed to the tree lot once more to claim my prize.
I won a gift certificate that was all mine. One that I had earned! I was on cloud nine. Christmas presents were now in second place next to my hard-earned gift certificate.
When Magic is Near
We still talk about this coloring contest in my family.
To this day, my mom says, "I can't believe you won that contest. How amazing!"
Winning that contest felt like seeing snow fall in the Sonoran Desert. It doesn't happen very often, but it looks like magic when it does. Light, white dust blankets the ground and covers the saguaros.
That Christmas, I felt magic in the air, and I knew I had to try to win.
Maybe it was the freezing temperatures. Perhaps it was my constant pestering of my mother. But that holiday was special, and I knew it.
Cheers
Whatever you choose to celebrate this month, I hope it brings you warmth, joy, and a little magic. Thank you for spending time with me this year.
Cheers!
Pour your favorite drink, put your feet up, and pet your pets. (Oh, and definitely enter that contest).
Until next time.
Peace,
Kit
Traveling Money is now on Medium
I’m happy to announce that Traveling Money is now a publication on Medium. This newsletter will still go out weekly as scheduled, we’re just opening the community to more writers and new readers.
Hooray! Welcome everyone.
Kit Campoy is a freelance writer based in Southern California. She covers Web3, travel, leadership, retail, writing, and more. She also writes personal essays on Medium. Connect with Kit on LinkedIn, DeSo, and Twitter.
What a sweet story!! The confidence and faith in yourself at such a young age is wonderful!