The Christmas Cabin: A short story

Carols and Movies

Watching through the window, she watched her kids pack snow tightly into the sand buckets. Stacking the wonky blocks like some sort of strange bricks, trying to complete the igloo before the cousins arrived on Christmas eve. As the 'Carpenters Christmas Portrait' album played on the old tape deck, Mama hummed along. She had a pretty voice, an alto that sounded like an angel. She turned away from the window, pounding down the rising bread dough, rolling it into loaves to share with the neighbors.

In fact, Mama and her two sisters formed a singing group, calling themselves The Nelson Sisters. They performed all around town, even in fancy hotel lobbies. And believe it or not, on these performance days, these Mamas would pack up all the kids in their big Station Wagon and Suburban, a firm voice telling them to behave while they performed. They would then sing and harmonize their hearts out to beloved Christmas songs. The kids didn't mind, around Christmas time, the hotel always had a million beautiful Christmas trees decorated to the nines, and activities like cookie decorating and ornament making. The sisters would handcraft their matching outfits, one pink, one purple and one teal. Carefully they would take puff-paint, swirling flowers, and leaves, outlining in silvers and golds. Ella and the girl cousins loved these outfits the most. They thought their Mamas looked like movie stars, with their hair teased just so. The boys mostly behaved, only rolling their eyes occasionally at how the Mamas faces look while singing.

Television wasn't something on very often in the cabin, there were too many other more important things to do, like build snow forts, go camping, sneak off to the well and go swimming. But when Dad wanted a movie night, the whole family was excited. You could always guarantee that it would be the latest Disney movie or a western starring John Wayne. One of the favorites among the kids was a little Christmas cartoon called 'The Troll Prince,' about a little troll who only wanted to be good and learn the true meaning of Christmas. Dad would go all out, buying candy and treats and popcorn. Things the kids usually never got. Ella made movie theater signs with colored construction paper, misspelling the word theater, to the chagrin of the older boys.