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Christmas spirit alive even if gifts forgotten
(by Christine Thome - December 22, 2011)
Christmas spirit alive even if gifts forgotten
Yep, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas out there.
Actually, it's been looking a lot like Christmas since the middle of September in most drug and department stores, but I'm going to keep the Christmas spirit and not complain.
Until next September.
Christmas morning with teenagers is much different than it was with young children. Now, it's the adults yelling at the kids to hurry up.
"You guys better get down here and open your presents," John bellows outside their doors. "If your mother has one more Bloody Mary, she may not remember Christmas!"
This year, I asked my kids what their favorite present was when they were younger. Was it the Thomas the Tank train set? Or the American Girl dolls and all the accessories?
"I don't really remember," they all said.
"You don't remember any gifts?" I screamed. "I waited in lines, battled rude shoppers and lack of cashiers, all so you could have everything you asked for, and you don't remember it?"
"No, nothing really stands out," they all agreed.
"Well, what does stand out?" I asked.
And then the torrent of memories began to flow. They remembered searching through fields for the perfect Christmas tree. Having their Nonee and Papa at our home every Christmas Eve. Playing with their cousins on Christmas Day. The mantle filled with special Santas that carry personal stories.
They remember how Christmas makes them feel, not what they received. And it's true, Memories made during the month of December are much more vibrant, more meaningful and more, well, memorable.
I wondered if other people felt this way, so I went to the Mecca of information -- Facebook. I asked my friends for their most memorable Christmas memories. I received so many wonderful stories, and I hope to share them in future columns, but these three stood out as examples of Christmas compassion, Christmas appreciation and Christmas grace, traits we should strive to have in abundance all year long.
"I remember my Dad coming home from work the day after Christmas, looking rather down. He said a house he passed every day on his way to work had burned down on Christmas. It was a small house along the railroad tracks in Willoughby, and he often watched the three kids who lived there playing baseball together while he waited for the train to pass.
"He said no one had been hurt but that he was sure the kids had lost all their new presents. He asked us if we would donate a few of our Christmas toys, wrap them up and make a surprise visit to the house at which they were staying. It was a little strange rewrapping my new beloved My Little Ponies and Tonka Trucks, walking into a stranger's house and handing them to kids I'd never met, but I'll never forget the quiet smiles on their faces and thinking about how hard it must have been to find the strength to be appreciative when your house was charred and still smoking mere feet away.
"Anyway, it's something I'll always remember -- to donate and be appreciative of what I have. I hope to pass that along to my kiddo."
"I remember gut-wrenching pain and sadness back in the early '80s. I was working an inner-city ICU on Christmas Day. At about 5 a.m., a father and three kids were brought in, dead on arrival, from to smoke inhalation due to a Christmas tree catching fire. I will never forget going to my family's house later that day for dinner. I completely broke down during prayers. I was mourning that family but also so grateful for everything I had."
"When my kids were young teens, my best friend and I took them down to the beach (she lives in Florida) and gathered up all the poor and homeless we could find. We bought them coffee and donuts and hot chocolate and warm clothes. It was one of the best experiences ever, and we still talk about it every year. We met some crazy folks but also some really sweet, gentle souls. It's a reminder to me that it's only grace that separates us."
May the grace of Christmas be with you all!
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