In this hustle-bustle world we live in it's so much easier to charge something on a credit card rather than give a gift of the heart.
And gifts of the heart are especially needed during the holidays.
A few years ago, I began to prepare my children for the fact that Christmas that year was going to be a small one. Their response was, "Yeah sure, Mom, we've heard that before!" I had lost my credibility because I had told them the same thing the previous year, while going through a divorce. But then I had gone out and charged every credit card to the max. I even found some creative financing techniques to pay for their stocking stuffers. This year was definitely going to be different, but they weren't buying it.
A week before Christmas, I asked myself, What do I have that will make this Christmas special? In all the houses we had lived in before the divorce, I had always made time to be the interior decorator. I had learned how to wallpaper, to lay wooden and ceramic tile, to sew curtains out of sheets and even more. But in this rental house there was little time for decorating and a lot less money. Plus, I was angry about this ugly place, I with its read and orange carpets and turquoise and green walls. I refused to put money into it. Inside me, and inner voice of hurt pride shouted, We're not going to be here that long!
Nobody else seemed to mind about the house except my daughter Lisa, who always tried to make her room her special place.
It was time to express my talents. I called my ex-husband and asked that he buy a specific bedspread for Lisa. Then I bought the sheets to match.
On Christmas Eve, I spent $15 on a gallon of paint. I also bought the prettiest stationery I'd ever seen. My goal was simple: I'd paint and we and stay busy until Christmas morning, so I wouldn't have time to feel sorry for myself on such a special family holiday.
That night, I gave each of the children three pieces of stationery with envelopes. At the top of each page were the words, "What I love about my sister Mia," "What I love about my brother Kris," What I love about my sister Lisa" and "What I love about my brother Erik." The kids were 16, 14, 10 and 8, and it took some convincing on my part to assure them that they could find just one thing they liked about each other. As they wrote in privacy, I went to my bedroom and wrapped their few store-bought gifts.
When I returned to the kitchen, the children had finished their letters to one another. Each name was written on the outside of the envelope. We exchanged hugs and goodnight kisses and they hurried off to bed. Lisa was given special permission to sleep in my bed, with the promise not to peek until Christmas morning.
I got started in the wee hours of Christmas morn, I finished the curtains, painted the walls and stepped back to admire my masterpiece. Wait-why not put rainbows and clouds on the walls to match the sheets? So out came my makeup brushes and sponges, and at 5 A.M. I was finished. Too exhausted to think about being a poor "broken home," as statistics said, I went to my room and found Lisa spread-eagled in my bed. I decided I couldn't sleep with arms and legs all over me, so I gently lifted her up and tiptoed her into her room. As I laid her head on the pillow, she said, "Mommy, is it morning yet?"
"No sweetie, keep your eyes closed unit Santa comes."
I awoke that morning with a bright whisper in my ear. "Wow, Mommy, it's beautiful!"
Later, we all got up and sat around the tree and opened the few wrapped presents. Afterward the children were given their three envelopes. We read the words with teary eyes and red noses. Then we got to "the baby of the family's" notes. Erik, at 8, wasn't expecting to hear anything nice. His brother had written: "What I love about my brother Erik is that he's not afraid of anything." Mia had written, "What I love about my brother Erik is he can talk to anybody!" Lisa had written, "What I love about my brother Erik he can climb trees higher than anyone!"
I felt a gentle tug at my sleeve, then a small hand cupped around my ear and Erik whispered, "Gee, Mom, I didn't even know they like me!"
In the worst of times, creativity and resourcefulness had given us the best of times. I'm now back on my feet financially, and we've had many "big" Christmases with lots of presents under the tree…but when asked which Christmas is our favorite, we all remember that one.
Gifts of the Heart
英语社
人气:1.96W
相关文章:
- 珠海一幼儿园首开粤语教学 One of the Kindergartens in Zhuhai Start to Teach Cantonese For First
- The english we speak(BBC教学)第265期:Six of one, half a dozen of the other 半斤八两
- (in the very act of production) he was estranging himself from himself是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- certificate of the right to the use of land是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- certificate for the registration of contract for copyright authorization是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 通过玩游戏甄选人才 Recruiters' use of video games is a fad worth fighting for
- aircrafts using in flight the features of both aeroplane and是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 企业必须寻找独特智慧 The path to enlightenment and profit starts inside the office
- The english we speak(BBC教学)第97期:Take the weight off your feet 休息
- aircraft using in flight the features of both aeroplane and rotorcraft是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
热门推荐
- 1年中国大型银行盈利增长趋缓 Profit growth flattens for China’s biggest lenders
- 2公安部回应二代证缺陷:年底身份证指纹登记The ID Card Will Have Fingerprint Registration At the End of The Year
- 3angle of twist per unit length of the shaft是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 4act of cheating others out of letter of credit是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 5希腊人面临的两难选择 The difficult choices facing the Greeks
- 6苹果与FBI之争并未画上句号 Apple is standing up for its rights, not thwarting the FBI
- 7The english we speak(BBC教学)第326期:A different kettle of fish 截然不同的事
- 8The english we speak(BBC教学)第192期:Food for thought 引人深思
- 9be discharged from hospital for further treatment是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 10名人崇拜的消极影响 The Negative Effect of Celebrity Worship
猜你喜欢
- 1希望长着翅膀 Hope is the Thing with Feathers
- 2application for permission to retain a portion of the foreign exchange brought in是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 3antioxidants as heats against the effects of heat是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 4catalysts of the metals of the iron group with tin是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 5affection of the facial oriffices by pathogens是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 6catalysts of the metals of the iron group with lead是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 7(2) THREADING of filaments or webs through apertures是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 8associated enterprises forming the peripheral layer of this kind of enterprise group是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 9act of twisting the law for the benefit of one's own purposes是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 10also for(referring to port or ports to be touched by the ship)是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 11必背英文面试口语 第62期:什么事会使你困扰? What are some of the things that bother you?
- 12breaking out the teeth of weft knitting machines是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 13春节放鞭炮的利与弊The Advantages and Disadvantages of Setting off Firecrackers During The Spring Festival
- 14礼拜几买机票最便宜 To Find Cheap Flights the Day (Kind of) Matters
- 15changing the form,size of finished hats是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
今日热门
- 1Adoption of the Declaration of Human Rights
- 2The use of credit cards
- 3be fearful that the patient should get worse是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 4第一次换衣服Change Clothes For the First Time
- 5amplifying the perfomance degree of the reforms and opening to the outside world是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 6Crime of heart【1】450字
- 7The Safety of Food
- 8西方为何调整对沙特政策 Why the west's view of the Saudis is shifting
- 9(forbid the) use of appropriations within the budget for projects it has not covered是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 10The Flight of Youth
更多推荐
- 1智能手机销售强劲 三星电子营业利润创两年来新高
- 2每日一句口语 第2668期:奇迹有时候是会发生的,但是你得为之拼命
- 3堆雪人的英文是什么
- 4东非铁路受益于中国政策抱负
- 5口语侠每日早读:第27期:坚持
- 6automatic uncoupling是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 7chief grand prosecutor是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 8俄语四级考试听力训练:12.08.2020
- 9bear clique是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 10圣诞“姥”人惨遭吐槽
- 11日语豆知识:日语中的字符
- 12关于唯美爱情英语句子
- 13双语笑话 第203期:埃博拉病毒
- 14woollen,woolly英语词汇辨析
- 15趣图妙语:视觉把戏 开动你的脑筋