thoughts on the news of the day: i believe

hmmm…..

            It’s Santa tracking time.  NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) has been tracking Santa for 56 years with its sophisticated satellite system and this year the tradition will continue. 

            Probably we all have our stories about magically discovering that Santa is real.  My favorite is the one about my daughter when she was about three years old.  We had gone to my sister’s house for Christmas Eve dinner.  It was a simple, but traditional one for us, a meal of homemade chicken soup and peppermint pie.  The pie was my nephew’s favorite, and he assisted in the assembling of it that year.  Afterwards, we opened only a few gifts because Santa really came on Christmas morning at our house.

            All was well when we ventured out into the cool night air in our scarves and mittens.  But we looked up to discover a red light dancing in the sky.  Surely it was Rudolph, we exclaimed to the children.  My daughter bought it; and rushed to the car to head home. After all Santa didn’t come until everyone was snuggled in their beds.

            The grownups knew that coincidently my sister’s house was right in the flight pattern of the landing strip for the airport and so red lights were normal at all times of the year.  But the awe and wonder of that moment was magical. And I will never forget it.

            Who says that Santa isn’t real?  Santa exists in the bright eyes of a small child who still believes.  And I believe, too.

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: re-gifting

hmmm….            

            Let’s talk about re-gifting.  Is it good or is it bad?  Some think that it is the cheapskates way out.  I mean, it a way to get out of paying actual money for a gift, isn’t it?  Teachers have done it for years.  They get little Avon gifts and Christmas knickknacks as well as all of the items that parents bought in the fund raiser sales and never wanted in the first place.  So they pass them along to family and friends who usually don’t want them either.  On a teacher’s salary, its not a bad way to save money.  My Dad used to buy used items at the Goodwill and tried to pass them on as new and we never bought into that one either.

            But then there is another way of looking at it.  There is a new ecology word going around these days.  It is “re-purpose-ing”.  And I think that is a good thing.  Sometimes we receive a present that is not so good for us, but perfect for someone else.  There is still thought put into the gift, its just that the giver took care and also moved toward sustainability.

            Back to my Dad, he used to take my daughter and her cousin to resale shops in town and they loved it!  All it took was a quarter or two and they had a week’s worth of gently used toys.  My daughter got tons of costume jewelry to play dress up with – it was grand!

            So the jury is still out on re-gifting.  I say, whatever you give, give it with thoughtfulness and love and it will be just fine.

            hmmm….