Time for children goes by much slower than it does for an adult. As a kid I felt like Christmas and my Birthday were never going to get here! I waited, and waited and waited until it was finally here! Now I don't wish for my Birthday to come as quickly, and although I love the Christmas season I dread the Christmas shopping. I made a wish list and a gift list this year...a first for me. I typically do my shopping last minute and whenever people ask me what I want, my mind goes blank. I can't seem to think up "things" that I want. Most times I am happy to just get some cash or a gift card that I can store away for a time that I find something that interests me. Gift giving is fun and even more fun when you give a gift that someone will treasure and love! I guess one of the reasons I don't like to shop for gifts is that I never seem to find that perfect gift.
I am really looking forward to this Christmas. This will be the first Christmas that one of my boys will be old enough to open a gift and be excited about what is inside. I remember the excitement my sister's and me had growing up as we opened our gifts. My parents have a video recording of me and my sister Heather opening our "Lady Lovely Locks Dolls" and the dorky way of celebrating our new play toys. I also remember sheepishly hitting the box that held my brand new pair of roller skates because I didn't know how else to react about the one gift that I dreamed about opening on Christmas morning. My toothless smile doing all it could to keep itself from revealing the black hole in my mouth because I was more excited about those skates than I wanted to make known to everyone.
Christmas just isn't the same for me anymore. I cherish the time I spend with my parents, sister's, brother-in-laws, sister-in-laws and Joe's parents and the new traditions I will make with my husband and sons on Christmas morning. I'm sure gift giving will always be part of that tradition in my family.
Christmas is a time for me to think about how little I need and how much more I can give. I live a comfortable life and have plenty of stuff. Gaining more stuff isn't going to make me happier. If Jesus was to come up to me after Christmas and ask me a question I can't hear him asking, "what did you get for Christmas?" He would probably ask me what I gave people in need for Christmas.
Yes I will do what I always do around the holidays. Buy a real tree, decorate it with my family while listening to The Carpenters or Amy Grant, make Christmas cookies, gain weight, wrap gifts, and open them on Christmas morning, travel to visit parents and siblings, go to 2 or 3 Christmas parties that you don't have time for but squeeze them in anyway, and when all is finished take a deep breath and be glad that I have a whole year before I have to do it all over again.
