Water, Water Everywhere! by Sally Cheney

Guinevere lay on her tummy on the pool side lounge, her chin resting on her hands at the foot end, and her legs bent to rest up against the back. She was concentrating on a puddle of water flowing slowly from under the lounge toward the edge of the pool, coloring the grey tile of the pool deck a darker shade of grey as it flowed along. The puddle, she knew, was from water dripping off her body. She had been playing in the pool, practicing swimming underwater, and was proud to have been able to make it all the way across the pool to the other side without having to come up for a breath. But it had taken many tries before she succeeded, and now she was tired. The sun felt so warm and nice on her back as she rested on the lounge!
Guinevere and her brothers, Lance and Arthur, were visiting at Aunt Katie and Uncle Ted’s home in Florida for Christmas. It was going to be a very different Christmas from what they were used to back in the West, where sometimes it snowed on Christmas. At least there was cold, frosty weather back home, even if it didn’t always snow. What would it be like to sing Christmas carols wearing shorts, on a balmy evening? Guinevere was hoping it would still be Christmas-y, but she wasn’t sure it could be!
Suddenly a yell of “Wahoo!” shattered her thoughts and the silence, as Arthur cannon-balled off the edge of the pool right next to her lounge, and sent a shower of chilly water over her! Guinevere sighed at the interruption and rolled onto her back. She could hear Aunt Katie’s sprinkler hissing among the flowers nearby and turned her head to watch the sun sparkle on the spraying droplets. As she watched, the shining droplets became dull as a shadow passed in front of the sun. Guinevere looked up to see a big black rain cloud darkening the sky! “Bang!” went a thunderclap! Guinevere sat up quickly and called to Arthur and Lance, “Get out of the pool! There’s a storm coming! There might be lightning!” Just then “Crack!” went a flash of lightning! She saw Lance grab Arthur’s arm and both boys flew up the steps out of the pool and raced into the house, grabbing their towels on the way.
They stood drying off by the big patio windows, watching as huge raindrops quickly painted polka dots all over the pool deck, and then the entire patio was awash with rain. “Wow! That sure happened fast!” exclaimed Lance, a look of amazement on his face. “How could it be so warm and sunny one minute, and pouring rain the next? This doesn’t happen in Arizona!”
“Welcome to Florida!” sang Aunt Katie. “Get dressed and we’ll play Scrabble for awhile.”
Guinevere stood under a hot shower rinsing off the chlorine from the pool, shampooing her hair, watching the sudsy water circle around and around as it went down the tub drain. “Water to swim in, water to grow flowers, water raining down on us, water to wash in,” she whispered to herself. “What would we do without water? It’s everywhere!”
As they gathered around the Scrabble board, Arthur wrinkled his nose and said, “What’s that yukky smell?”
“Oh my gosh! The potatoes!” cried Aunt Katie, jumping up and running to the kitchen. “Oh no! They’ve run out of water and now they’re burned! Guess we’ll be having macaroni and cheese for dinner tonight!”
“So that’s what happens without water!” thought Guinevere with a smile. “Dinner burns!” And she added “Water to cook with” to her mental list of uses for water.

The next day was December 24. Christmas Eve! Guinevere always got excited as Christmas morning neared, as she wondered what presents she would get for Christmas. She got out of bed and went to sit in front of the little nativity that Aunt Katie had arranged on the coffee table. She picked up the tiny figure of Baby Jesus from his little straw-filled bed. “I know Christmas is all about you,” she whispered, “but its fun to think about presents, too! And you are still the best present of all.” She kissed the tiny forehead and placed the Baby back in his bed. Then she moved Mary and Joseph a little closer to their Holy Child. She missed her own parents. They had decided to celebrate their wedding anniversary this December by going on a special Christmas cruise. That’s why Guinevere, Lance, and Arthur were staying with Aunt Katie and Uncle Ted. The cruise ship sailed from Florida to some tropical islands, and while Guinevere was happy that her parents were able to go on such a nice vacation, she missed them. What would Christmas be like without her parents? As she pictured her parents happily sailing out over the ocean, Guinevere realized here was another use for water: sailing cruise ships! As she thought about Christmas morning without her parents, tears began to slide down her face. “Oh great” she thought, sadly, as she wiped away the tears. “More water!”
Uncle Ted came into the room in his robe and slippers. When he saw Katie looking a little forlorn, he sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. “Feeling a little lonely, Sweetie?” he asked as he hugged her close. “Maybe missing your folks just a little bit?”
“Yes”, Katie replied as she lay her head against Uncle Ted’s shoulder. “But I’m glad they got to go on the cruise. They’ve been talking about it for a long time.”
“Well, don’t you worry, we’re going to have a great Christmas ourselves! Your Aunt Katie and I learned long ago that Christmas may not be the same in Florida as it was in Arizona where we grew up, but people manage to make a happy Christmas wherever they are!”
“Make a Christmas?” Guinevere asked. “What do you mean make a Christmas?”
“I’ll show you! Come in the kitchen!”
“Back home in Arizona your family makes Christmas by doing the things that you all love to do every year, like putting up the tree, opening the little doors of the Advent Calendar, bundling up and going caroling, going to the church party. All those things are how you make Christmas with your family. Today Katie and I will show you how we make Christmas here at our home, in Florida!”
Uncle Ted opened the freezer and got out a can of frozen cranberry juice. Then, from the refrigerator he brought out a can of whole berry cranberry sauce and some yogurt. “We’ll start with our favorite Christmas breakfast!” he smiled. Grabbing the blender, he scooped in some yogurt, some cranberry juice concentrate, and some cranberry sauce. At the sound of the blender whirring, Lance and Arthur came running down the stairs.
“Katie!” called Uncle Ted. “Better get down here! The troops are starving, and you’re the Christmas waffle expert!”
There were a few moments of hustle and bustle as Katie arrived and started mixing something in a big bowl, Lance and Arthur set the table, and Guinevere was put to work chopping up fresh cranberries, oranges, and sugar in a big bowl. Finally everyone sat down at the table and bowed their heads as Uncle Ted thanked the Lord for His love that they were all feeling around them. He asked that Guinevere, Lance and Arthur’s parents be blessed with a wonderful, happy time together on their cruise. And he thanked the Lord that he and Katie could have “three wonderful children to bless our Christmas this year!” It was then that Guinevere realized that since Uncle Ted and Aunt Katie had never had children of their own, this was a special Christmas for them! In fact, much to her embarrassment, as soon as the “amen” was said, Arthur exclaimed, “Hey, how come you guys don’t have kids?” Something told Guinevere this was not something one should ask someone, even if one was curious to know! But Arthur was too young to realize that!
Aunt Katie and Uncle Ted didn’t seem to mind the question though, and Ted replied, “Well Arthur, the Lord hasn’t seen fit to bless us with children, for reasons of His own. That’s why we are so happy to have you three here with us this Christmas! Christmas is so much more fun when we can watch children enjoy it!”
Just then Katie brought to the table a big platter of RED and GREEN waffles! “Merry Christmas, everybody!” she laughed as she set the platter down in the middle of the table. Putting a green waffle on Arthur’s plate, she scooped up a big scoop of the sauce Guinevere had made, and plopped it on the waffle, topping it with whipped topping, and then, she even sprinkled the whipped topping with green and red sugar sprinkles! Uncle Ted filled each person’s glass with the cranberry smoothy mixture, and stuck a sprig of mint on top.
“Wow!” said Lance, as he took a sip, leaving a foamy mustache on his upper lip.
“Whoopee!” said Arthur, as he dug into his green waffle.
Guinevere glanced at Uncle Ted and he winked at her and smiled.

That night they all piled in the van and headed to the beach. Uncle Ted had promised a surprise. The children couldn’t imagine what could take place at the beach on Christmas Eve, especially in the dark. Lots of people had gathered to sit on blankets, glowing lanterns casting a pretty glow. Children were running around with Glo-sticks, laughing and playing. Suddenly a loudspeaker started playing Christmas carols out over the beach, filling the air with music. Everyone seemed to turn their heads at once, looking down the beach. Out on the water there was a beautiful sight making its way in the direction of the spectators. “It’s a fire engine! A fire engine in the water!” shouted Arthur, jumping up and down with excitement. “No, wait! It’s a fire boat!” he shouted. “Look! It’s spraying its hoses straight up in the air like a fountain!” It was true! The fountains of water sprayed high up from the sides of the fire boat, and the spray was lit up by green and red lights shining up from the deck. The fire boat tooted its horn and sounded its siren and everyone cheered. Behind the fireboat came dozens of wave runners, decorated with lights, looping and swerving and sending up their own sheets of spray! Behind the wave runners came small boats of all kinds with lights all over them. It was a glorious sight, as the colored lights reflected on the water! Guinevere had never seen a Christmas parade like this one! And then, at the end of the parade of boats came a big yacht, all covered in beautiful lights. And there was Santa Clause, sitting right on the bow, waving at the boys and girls on the beach! Suddenly beautiful fireworks filled the sky and “Jingle Bells” came over the loud speaker. Families joined hands and danced together on the sand as they laughed and sang with the music!
Gradually, the crowd became quiet, and Guinevere could see one more light coming across the water. A beautiful star appeared, formed of white lights. It was supported on a simple flat barge, towed by a little boat without any decorations. The lighted boats had all gone on and disappeared, and the only light left was the beautiful star. In the reverent silence, a voice came gently over the loud speaker: “As we travel to our homes tonight, let’s remember what Christmas is really about.” A lovely choir was heard, singing “Silent Night” as the star passed slowly by.
Later, after getting into their pajamas, everyone gathered in the living room. Uncle Ted asked Guinevere to light a little candle in front of the nativity. She guessed that Daddy had told Uncle Ted that this was a special tradition the children were used to, at home each Christmas Eve. Then the children snuggled up next to Uncle Ted and Aunt Katie, just the way they did with their parents every Christmas Eve, and watched the light of the little candle flicker on the nativity scene while Uncle Ted read the Christmas Story from the Bible, just the way Daddy did every Christmas Eve. It wasn’t exactly the same as home, but Guinevere knew Aunt Katie and Uncle Ted were trying to make it feel familiar for the children. And she knew her parents, far away on the cruise ship, were hoping their children were having a happy Christmas without them. Guinevere could feel the love her parents had for her and the boys.
As Uncle Ted tucked Guinevere into bed that night, he asked, “Well, Honey, how do you like the way we make Christmas around here?”
“It’s beautiful!” smiled Guinevere. “Thank you, Uncle Ted! Merry Christmas!”
As Guinevere lay in bed remembering all the fun of Christmas in Florida, she thought to herself, “I never would’ve guessed that with all the things we use water for, we could use it for making Christmas, too!”