The gift of giving

It has been an interesting month. The grey cloud called “the economy” has been hovering over our heads, echoing from the news and from nervous lips. The news reached a new level of salience when, in addition to two of Chris’s sisters losing their jobs, my dad lost his job of twenty-eight years. We decided this year not to travel for Christmas but instead to enjoy a quieter Christmas at home. I wasn’t sure how I would handle this change (we have visited family every year up until now), and my emotions were compounded when my grandfather passed away earlier this week. Though we searched airline sites exhaustively, the reality was that we would not be able to make it home for his funeral. As we resigned ourselves to staying here, I looked forward with anticipation to our Christmas plans, which included a dinner invitation to our friends’ home for dinner on Christmas day. However, Rowan woke at 2 am on Christmas Eve not from sugar plums dancing in his head but instead from a nasty cold that wouldn’t let him sleep the rest of the night (which confounded my need for sleep as I have a cold as well). Poor Rowan, he spent most of Christmas grumpy and sick, unable to sleep until the late afternoon. We had to cancel our Christmas plans and stay home instead; I hadn’t planned on making anything special for dinner, so our meal was not spectacular.

And yet, despite all that has happened leading up to this day, I have had a great day and a wonderful experience with my family. Christmas this year was entirely upon our shoulders to prepare, so I busied myself with finding gifts for loved ones and making the season magical for our little guys. I’m grateful for the joy that can be found when we think of others, when we spend our time pursuing others needs rather than wallowing in our own concerns. I don’t mean to trivialize the events that have occurred this month, but for me this season, I have understood with greater meaning the gift of peace brought by the Savior centuries ago. The gift of giving is truly received by the giver, which is to know and understand a deeper level of love and human connection. I hope that all of our dear friends and family had a wonderful day on this special day. Merry Christmas!

Comments

Stephanie said…

I hope everything works out for your family members.

December 26, 2008 at 10:36 PM

Sara said…

Our thoughts are with you. I am sorry about the passing of your Grandfather. It kind of makes you put aside all the commercialism of the holidays and be truly grateful for family. I hope you had a nice Christmas despite it all.

December 29, 2008 at 9:27 AM

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