Description - Tammy is dismayed that she is unable to provide her son Josh with the Christmas gifts he expects, and he is too young to understand. A suggestion from Ted, the intriguing man who runs the library play-group they attend, that children remember the things parents DO with them, not the things they BUY for them, prompts her towards an ingenious solution. Not only is Josh delighted by her creation, Ted too is impressed by the Love Pile Josh shows him.
Excerpt - Tammy gazed forlornly at the department store window with its display of Christmas marvels, a frown wrinkling the perfect forehead beneath her long blond hair, straight and plain but attractive. Depression and anxiety battled for mastery over her normal quiet optimism. A few hours earlier, she had stood in this very spot with Josh, him barely tall enough to see into the wonderland of trains hauling plush animals, trucks towing trailers in a doll parade, and electronic gadgets guaranteed to educate, entertain, and enthral. It was not simply designed to capture the attention of a three-and-a-half year-old; it seemed to be planned so his excitement would escalate as each passing minute revealed an even more electrifying discovery. Judging by the knee-high smears on the window, she knew he wasn’t the only toddler to be captivated by the colour and movement, though perhaps he was one of the younger ones.
Only the bribe of a hot fudge sundae had pried him away. If there weren’t whitecaps on his adrenaline before, there will be after the sugar, Tammy had thought as she held his hand while he trudged in his awkward snow pants and boots to the dairy bar. She had shivered at the thought of the cold treat on a December morning, but knew Josh’s inner furnace burned hot, just like her love for him and her determination to give him a rich life. Her own foster-home upbringing had provided her with adequate material things, but had been completely lacking in warmth, something she had pledged Josh would not lack.