Sunday, December 25, 2011

Any gift is special

Parents spend a lot of time planning, talking, shopping, spending and stressing over what to get their children for Christmas. If they can afford it, they include a few "big" gifts, the stuff they save for the end, when the family room is littered with wrapping paper and tissue. The big gifts are supposed to be the signature moments of the day.

Today my son Matthew reminded me that any gift is special. The second gift he opened was this 10-inch, yellow dump truck that makes noises when you press its buttons. It came from Santa, and I'm guessing it cost about $9.95. It was without a doubt his favorite gift of the day. When he opened it, he danced around the room.

"On Friday, at my school, Santa came to our classroom," he said. "And I sat on his lap, and I told him I wanted trucks, and that's how he knew to get me one."

I left the room and came back, and he was clutching the truck, saying "Truck, truck, trucky, truck, I love you truck, truck, truck, truck ..." He then started kissing it and hugging it. I'm not kidding. He was literally kissing the $10 truck.

Moments like that remind you that you don't need to spend a ton of money to give a child a special treat. A gift is a gift. Thank you, Matthew, for reminding us.

And merry Christmas to anyone reading this. I have much more to write about today, and I'm hoping you do too. I'll be back later, gotta get back to the family now.

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for writing this. You have a beautiful family. ~Tricia from the Hampton Inn

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  2. My husband used to ask me what I wanted for birthdays, Christmas, etc. I always wanted something he struggled with to deliver, which made it even better to receive.

    A simple letter.

    It would have been easier for Jim to shop at the nearest jewelry store,but he did quickly realize those boxes would become dust collectors.

    Jim wrote beautiful reflective pieces on our relationship,our boys, and our lives in general. How he couldn't live without me despite my poor driving, you get the picture..

    He always signed it "Your My Special Girl". Jim always knew what I needed,sometimes before I did.

    I have those priceless heirlooms of prose today, stolen from a moment in time,and whose currency far exceeds what any cold inanimate ounce of gold could bring.

    So yes, even the smallest of gifts are raised up in the eyes of their beholders based only on our love for them.

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