- "Hi - over"
- "Where are you? - over"
- "What are you doing? - over"
- "What did you get for Christmas? - over"
...with every member of your family (Dad, Mom and Beverly), it sort of loses its luster.
Then, there was the year I got a red, 3-speed, English racer. It's sort of torture to get a brand new bike on Christmas day when its 12 degrees outside with over a foot of snow! There's only so much pleasure you can get from standing and looking at your new bike!
My parents were really good to me! Over and over, for seventeen years, they overwhelmed me with an abundance of nice things. Then, after opening them. they would put me in the car so we could go and visit my Aunt Sylvie and Uncle Ernie; and then my Aunt Peg and Uncle Dave; and then my Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Lester - where my Grandma Haire also lived. By the time we got back home it was too late to play with any of my new stuff!
Once I became a Dad, the game changed and Debbie and I got the fun of giving surprises. I remember the year Troy asked for a new pair of tennis shoes; he was eight. He said, "They haffa say L. A. Gear!" So, I got an old pair of his sneakers and painted L. A. Gear on them with red paint. When he unwrapped them, he failed to see the humor and threw them on the floor! [He did get the new shoes a little later.]
Then there was the exciting year when we got the kids a puppy. One of the last gifts was a note that sent them to the basement, where they found a pound puppy. She was a collie/husky mix and was a couple of months old. They were THRILLED! Keeto was the greatest pet and livened our home for quite a few years. When we would let her loose, she would bolt around the yard so fast! She knew how to fly past Troy and Tracie and bump them just enough to knock them down - they would get so angry with her over that!
One year, I was purchasing some backpacking gear and saw some 'mummy' sleeping bags at a greatly reduced price. I bought three of them, wrapped them and hid them behind the couch until Christmas day. When all the other gifts had been opened and we had enjoyed our Christmas lunch - I remembered them. When the kids opened them, it was instant love! They spent the next week in those bags playing games and swinging one another around on the hardwood floors!
Oh, and there were more than a couple of years when the kids played more with a cardboard box than they did with any of their gifts!
I remember the year when my Dad bought me a video camera! They were a pretty new thing at the time and I knew he had spent nearly $1,000 on it! We used it for years before video cameras became more commonplace. As a result, we have a stock of valuable videos of Christmases and other family events! I wonder if Dad realized the impact his generous gift was going to have?
I struggle every year with the pressure to give obligatory gifts. Like many of you, I love to give gifts and get far more excited about giving gifts than receiving them. When we pack our Samaritan Ministries Christmas boxes, we try to imagine the joy that will be expressed when those boxes are opened somewhere far away by a child who has so little! That simple thought brings a happy tear to my eyes.
Reality is: gifts can, indeed, have a memorable impact! Especially when they're given with love and creativity!
Imagine the impact of the gift of gold as Joseph and Mary had to flee to Egypt for several years. We know the symbolism of the other gifts of the magi, too!
By the way, if you want a real blessing and a reminder of the value of precious gifts, get online and read O. Henry's The Gift of the Magi. What a powerful reminder of the impact of a gift given in love! It's one of my favorite stories! Consider it my gift to you this wonderful, sacred, Christmas season!
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