This Christmas has been one of the most harrowing experiences of my life but one of the biggest blessings too. You see, along with many other people, my pocketbook has been a bit thinner these days. So when it came to getting Christmas gifts for my daughter this year, I was only able to get three. Having lots of gifts under the tree has always been very important to me. Even if those gifts only cost $5.00, I’ve always wanted Paris to have the joy of opening gifts on Christmas day to be an extended period of time. The idea of dealing with seeing any look of disappointment on her face by a tree that would have barely anything under it was too much to bare. Yes, I know it’s not about the price of the gifts, the size or the quantity but I think most parents would agree you want to get as many gifts as you can for them.
So I hustled and hustled through the month of December to drum up more funds to be able to buy more gifts but notta. A check that I had hoped was going to clear by Christmas Eve didn’t go through and the money that I thought was coming through for a side job didn’t show up either. It was Christmas Eve and not only did I not have enough to get her any more gifts but no tree either. I remember driving around and asking God if it would be possible for one of the Christmas lots to be willing to just give a tree away considering it was Christmas Eve after all. Oh the thoughts that can go through one’s mind when the cupboards are bare. I can see now how people can be so desperate that they would do dumb stuff.
Well, as luck would have it, as I’m driving through the windy hills of a town that I hardly knew existed in San Diego, there, laying on the road was a Christmas tree with the tag still on it. I pulled over in disbelief. I waited for a few minutes to see if anyone was coming back who may have dropped it. Then I quickly got out of the car, stopping some traffic and shoved it into the back of my jeep. Could this really have been a gift from God? Now that’s some manifesting. Talking of manifesting, when I went back to my friends store who I had helped make deliveries for, the thought came to me that instead of leaving cookies for Santa, I wonder if the store would have left over chocolate covered fruit that I could use instead. Not 5 minutes later one of the store staff asked me if I would like some leftover chocolate covered fruit. Um, heck ya! I walked out with three bags and a very big smile.
On the way home, I still had not manifested the money I needed to buy more gifts. Turning to the last couple of dry wells and notta, I decided I have two choices; either I could finally have to deal with the disappointment on my daughter’s face when she would see only a few gifts under the tree or I can give up my pride and get on Craigslist and see if anyone was giving away any free toys. I checked Paris’s Christmas list and her very first request was, surprisingly, a stuffed animal. I had found several people who were not only giving away stuffed animals, but books, games, trampolines and so much more. 4 people agreed to let me come and pick up their stuff. I even got a really cool kids croquet set. I wound up filling almost my whole trunk full of toys I could give to Paris.
It wasn’t until I got to the last house did I have an intuitive thought that there was an envelope with cash from a relative sitting at my mom’s house. I called and sure enough there was. So with that money and a little extra given by another relative (thank you Maureen), I went to the only store that was open at 8:30 pm, Walgreens. And you know what, I found some pretty cool stuff and I finally felt that Paris would have a good Christmas after all.
Before she went to bed, we decided to start a new tradition and line up m & m’s to the fridge where we would have his chocolate covered fruit. When writing a note to Santa she asked me what do I want for Christmas. Knowing I wasn’t going to have any gifts to open (except for one, thank you Robin) I said all I wanted was for her to be happy, which when it came down to it, is all I really wanted. I thought for sure she would give me one of those looks like “Seriously woman” but she was so grateful that I said that. And that made me so grateful that she was so grateful. Cumbaya right? So off to bed she went and up for the next 3 hours I was wrapping all these gifts. I would normally be aggravated that I had to stay up so late but I was grateful that I had a reason to stay up this late. Looking at the Christmas tree that I didn’t think I was going to get and looking at the bountiful of gifts that I didn’t think would be able to put there, was one of the most grateful feelings I’ve ever had.
The next morning she woke up bright and early and immediately sprung out of bed and threw open the door and exclaimed, “Mom, mom Santa has been here.” The feeling of relief knowing that there wasn’t only coal sitting out there was huge. She proceeded to turn the living room into heaping piles of wrapping paper and I loved every moment of it. After wards, she melted some chocolate for me, of course sprinkled with more sugar. That was breakfast.
I think every parent wants to teach their child how to be grateful during these times and not be greedy. I think Christmas can breed a lot of greed. I sure was humbled by this experience and really appreciated what people who truly can’t even get one gift go through. The heart break that must bring. And I reminded how truly blessed I am. And I’m reminded how giving people can truly to be a stranger.
Happy Holidays
Tracy