A generous spirit and a cherished tradition
A child's generous spirit
My husband and I were blessed with 7 pounds, 9 ounces of beautiful baby girl early Christmas morning, 1999. Our daughter was born 10 minutes before a shift change for the nurses but two of them insisted on staying with us for another hour. I couldn't believe it, here it being Christmas morning and both of them having family waiting at home for them.
Due to a small complication my daughter was taken to the special care nursery; my husband went with her. About half an hour later he came back to tell me that she was fine, but the nurses had put her in a stocking and Santa hat. Soon after, she was released from the nursery. The floor was very empty and quiet with most people at home spending Christmas with their families.
This year my daughter will be seven and tells everyone that Santa left her under the Christmas tree for me. She looks forwards to being the only one she knows who gets a birthday present from Santa Claus. For the last few years she has donated most of her birthday gifts to a toy drive of her choice and is thrilled that she gets to make another child's Christmas a happy one. This year, our soon-to-be five-year-old is looking forward to doing the same thing.
As I look back on that Christmas day almost seven years ago now, I can't help but smile at the time and effort everyone made for us that day.
-- Val Klic
The cherished gift of tradition
Every Christmas since my two children were born (one is now 42 and the other 39) I have given them a Christmas ornament, thinking that by the time they left home they'd have enough to decorate their own trees. When my youngest (a boy) was 17, I decided not to continue this tradition with him since he had not shown a lot of interest in receiving an ornament for a couple of years.
Well, out of town one weekend and given a ride home by one of the secretaries at his high school, my son mentioned to her that the thing he loved most about Christmas was seeing what unique ornament (sometimes purchased and other times homemade) his mom came up with each year. The secretary relayed this story to me and I realized what a terrible mistake I'd almost made. I learned quite a lesson -- teenagers do find meaning and value in little family traditions, even if they don't always voice their thanks.
I am pleased to say that my daughter has started this tradition with her children. As for my son (who does not have a family of his own yet), he continues to receive his ornament every year and loves each one.
-- Sheilah Gallion
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