Tim's New Clothes

I remember when I taught in Bremerton some thirty years ago, there was a sad little boy in my class. His mom and his family were on welfare, and it was clear he was outgrowing his clothes. I suspected that the mom, who was busy working hard in her college classes, could not afford to get him the clothes that he needed. I asked her if it would be OK if I bought him some clothes for Christmas. She said that would be wonderful.

So in the next week, I had our school secretary get his sizes. Using the then Sears catalog's size chart, I ascertained that he was between a boys size 9 and ten. I then went to every thrift store in Burien and bought him some very nice jeans and shirts. I laundered them and asked a friend who was an extremely talented seamstress to hem the pants.

A couple days before Christmas break, I gave him the clothes to see if they fit properly. I sent him into the staff bathroom in the office to try them on. He came out and paraded proudly to show the clothes off to the office staff. He had such a beaming smile on his face! Later that day, he came up to me in class and said, "Mr. Lewis, I don't have anything to give YOU for Christmas."

I replied, "Just that you are happy with the clothes is enough Christmas present for me," and I gave him a hug.

The next day, I walked into my classroom before school, and there was a very love worn teddy bear on my desk.

There was a piece of notebook paper with it, saying, "To Mr. Lewis."

Well, I melted into a pool of tears.