19 Dec Nothing for Christmas

Sometimes I think I associate getting gifts with approval and affection. When I was growing up, we were not rich people. My parents worked hard and worked a lot. So, often because they were too tired or too busy, I sort of got paid off with a hug and a five dollar bill – rather than them actually being able to spend time with me. That’s one theory

Another theory is that I am greedy and selfish. Why? Because I LOVE to get gifts, and especially at Christmas. For me, a bad gift is still better than no gift. I’m like a child. I always hear other folks saying things like “you don’t have to get me anything” …and I want to be like that. I’ve even said it before. But the truth is, I don’t really mean it. I want the damn gift.

It makes me feel so great when someone hands me something wrapped in pretty paper and ribbons and says “this is for you.” It feels like love to me.

I know, I know….”it’s not the gift – it’s the thought that counts.” I’m good with that. I don’t expect jewelry. But if it’s the thought that counts, no gift means no thought, right? I’m even good with a re-gift. A box of corporate chocolates is still a box of chocolates.

But seriously, the thing that really blows my mind is the simple fact of just how lucky I am. I am nearly 50 years old and in all my life I have never NOT gotten a Christmas present. Hell, a Christmas present…I’ve never not gotten several.

So many people in this world go without basic necessities and I get excited about a scented candle. The gifts you get are humbling. The gifts you get call on you to be generous. The gifts you get remind you to care about others. Most of all I guess, to me the gifts I get remind me of all the wonderful people I have in my life, and those I was blessed to have had.

Merry, Merry Christmas to anybody that reads this.