Page 23 - LIfesOuttakes5

But then her face brightened again a moment later. “That’s okay, Daddy. I will ask Santa for it.” Her heart was much lifted by the thought, but mine only felt heavier. Christmas was just over five weeks away, and I considered everything I could think of to get my little girl the present she so desperately wanted. I checked every secondhand store as well as all of the want ads, but there were no used wagon to be had. Then my wife, Donna, showed me an ad in a woman’s magazine. It had a picture of a red wagon, even nicer than the one Celese had asked for. It was normally $100, but a person could get it for free for 1000 soup can labels. She smiled. “If we could get 1000 soup can labels, we would only have to pay the $10 shipping.” I sighed. “Where am I going to get 1000 soup can labels? We can’t afford canned soup.” She shrugged. “Well, it doesn’t hurt to try. We could ask everyone we know to save them for us.” And that was what we did, and they all agreed to 17