Hopefully this finds all of you plowed out and sidewalks shoveled so you can have friends and family over for Christmas. The weekend is fast approaching and, if you haven’t taken the time to be good yet this year, you barely have time to squeeze in a good deed or two so… hurry up! If you have been reminiscing as you put up the tree this year and hung the lights, my hope is you have remembered a few fun Christmas memories that made you laugh. Notice I said “laugh” because as we get older many memories bring reminiscing tears of friends and family who have passed. With that said and a Kleenex in hand, let me tell you a favorite Christmas story from my childhood.
I grew up with three brothers who, for the most part, were simply annoying to the only girl in the family. Annoying only because my girl time was limited and they obviously had the upper hand with the remote when mom and dad went “to town” for bowling night. Besides those nights, the memories of my younger years are happy and without turmoil or a thought of having gone without something. All except, that is, that one Christmas Eve when I was in high school. Let me set the stage…
As many of you can probably relate, my mom bought all of the presents and always signed them “Love, Dad and Mom.” It is a tradition that is carried on in my own family and, from what I hear, in many other households as well. So, I got very used to eyeing up the present tags that my mom had filled out each Christmas season to see how many presents I had under the tree (yes, every kids does that right?). That is, all until that one year – that Christmas Eve that is etched in my holiday memory bank.
Just before the grand celebration, a.k.a., present opening time, I noticed three NEW presents. There were three NEW presents with nametags written out to each of my brothers in my dad’s handwriting! What?? My dad got gifts for the boys and wrote out the tag? Where is mine? We were just about to start opening presents so I quickly searched and searched but did not see a present with my name written in Dad’s handwriting.
When the boys opened those gifts, the mystery was solved… my dad had decided to get the boys each something just from him that year. An unprecedented happening in our house! And, in my teenage, selfish, self-absorbed way, it bothered me and I was upset. Without wanting to let Dad know, I went straight to Mom and complained. Later in the evening as we were admiring all of our gifts and I walked the catwalk in our living room showing off each new outfit I received, my dad asked me to sit by him on the couch and he handed me a small envelope. The envelope had his handwriting on the front and it read, “To my Tammy from Dad” and inside was a crisp $50.00 bill. I gave him a big hug and kiss and thank you and then started to cry. It was at that moment that I realized how selfish it was of me to not be happy that the boys got a “guy” gift from Dad without me having to have something too.
What makes this my favorite story is the fact that it takes getting older with a family of my own to appreciate the unspoken part of this story. Imagine being the dad and feeling terrible that you have let your daughter down so you sneak away to get a $50.00 bill from the safe or your billfold; quickly place it in an envelope for her in the hopes to make her happy. It is an understatement to say, but a $50.00 bill went a lot further 35 years ago than it does today and my dad had probably already designated that $50.00 bill to go toward paying for upcoming bills or groceries for his family of six. I still remember where we sat on that couch and the emotion still sweeps over me to think of what he did to make his selfish teenager happy on that Christmas Eve.
As my dad decorates the tree in heaven this year, I say a silent “thank you” to him for being such a wonderful man and father. It is amazing what we do for our children without any thought of what we will get in return and he is the epitome of that statement. For Christmas and every day of the year – Give to others without thought of what you get in return; be thankful for the small and the large gifts; and recognize the real gifts we receive that are not wrapped in pretty paper or wrapped in a bow. Be humble and kind… Merry Christmas everyone.
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