Christmas Past
Story Five in the Read all the St Mary's Christmas Short Stories before Christmas Day Challenge
Story Five in the Reading Challenge is Christmas Past. This is also available in Long Story Short. Please comment below when you've finished it.
The First Farrell Family Christmas. Max, Leon and Matthew - together at last for Christmas at St Mary's - a time of conspicuous consumption, riotous misbehaviour and the traditional illegal Christmas jump. And this time, it's inter-generational. Donning her unfamiliar mother hat, Max takes Matthew back to 19th-century London, where they plan to deliver a parcel of Christmas cheer to his former friends, but find themselves confronting the terrifying Old Ma Scrope in the process. 'Tis the season to be jolly. It's also the season of goodwill towards all mankind. Pity nobody told Max…
Get ready for this year’s traditional St Mary’s Christmas Day jump…
The stories in the Christmas Reading Challenge are:
We hope you have enjoyed this St Mary’s Christmas story - please leave a comment to show you have read it and are participating in the challenge.
I am an attorney in the US, working for Legal Aid. For the last 20 years, I've represented abused and neglected children in fostercare. Starting with Thanksgiving straight through Christmas, my child clients are unhappy and upset - contrasting their lives with the fictional pictures of happy families and abundant Christmases they see on TV. We do our best, my colleagues and I, raising money and buying food and presents for roughly 100 children and their families.... It's a drop in the bucket.
As you might imagine, I cried through most of this story - great big snotty Maxwell crying. I've reread this story many times, crying each time, being uplifted by how things turn out for the climbing boys and for Max, Leon and Matthew - each time.
I am reminded of one of my mentors telling me that the only way to avoid heartbreak is to close your heart but then you pay the cost of doing so - and the price is all of the joy in life.
Heartbreak and joy - different sides of the same coin - give up one, give the other.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It was good to find out more about what happened to Matthew and how things changed afterwards. A story featuring Max and Matthew together -- bliss, even though it was also heart-rendering.