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quitting christmas

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24 Dec quitting christmas

bffl, me, sister, sister’s bffl–the original crew
There are only two times of year that I
absolutely do not hate
having the tv on 24/7: the beginning
of football season and during Christmas.
I
love all the cheesiness of every single Hallmark, animated, and adult
Christmas movie. I am not partial. {Except A
Christmas Story
.
Do not even get me started on that movie. I wish the original vhs
that continues to perpetrate society would get the tape ripped out of
it and save us all. Seriously, don’t.}
But, since you asked, the hairy, green
guy played by the one and only Jim Carey is, in fact, my all time
favorite Christmas movie.
It completely gets to the “heart”
of Christmas and how we, as a culture, can easily get so wrapped up
in the superfluous things that we MISS the important stuff, the good
stuff, the significance of the whole season.
{Okay, it’s entirely secular (Ugh.
::eye roll:: I did just say secular. Let’s just say it’s not about
Jesus. ) and there’s absolutely NO mention of Christ anywhere so, in
fact, it wholly misses the entire reason that there IS
a Christmas. But for the purposes of discussing how Americans who
don’t celebrate Jesus celebrate Christmas it nails
it. Jesus is the reason
for the season. Don’t miss that.

That’s just not what this is about for this moment.}

If you’ve never seen it (or if you have) I shall spare you the
details and simply say Go. Watch. It. Now. Like five minutes ago.

…you can see the climax of the Grinch’s anger about Christmas and
the relentless hustle and bustle, here.

“Gifts!
Gifts! Gifts, gifts, gifts, gifts, gifts!! You
wanna know what happens to your gifts? They all come to me. In your
garbage. You see what I’m saying?
And
I do. I do see what he is saying.
I
am a sub-par gifter. For a multitude of reasons, gifts are just not
my thing. They are last on my love language lists.
I
love surprises though, little gifts. I want to bring you coffee just
because. Or cook you dinner because I had a little free time—or
made time. I want to call you and give you the gift
of my attention, my presence.
When
the time comes, I may be the worse aunt ever. (But that’s debatable.
Time will tell.)
So
all the little kids I nanny and care for (and there are LOTS) can
sometimes get confused when I show up to birthday parties or
Christmas gatherings empty handed and a simple promise to take them
on a personal play date.
{What!?
A kid’s birthday party and no gift!!? Seriously. It is impressive
that they still love me.}
Here’s
my problem though…no one needs

anything anymore
.
Yes,
we all have plenty of wants. And there are a group of people living
within my country, my state, my city, my neighborhood who do
legitimately have needs that must be met for their survival.
But
most of us…we are out of needs. And there are few things I enjoy
less than knowingly adding to a child or a friend’s junk pile of
STUFF that they will not care for in a few weeks.
I
just hate it.
So
please forgive me if you invite me to a Christmas party and I
consider my presence (and probably a bottle of vino or a homemade
baked good) absolutely enough! I love you. And I have the absolutely
best friends in the world who deserve great things.
But
I live in a world {read: my brain} where time is greater than money.
So
I continue to ask for the most expensive “gift” there is…your
time. And will continue to gift you the same.
Last
year, I commenced Operation Restore Christmas Spirit 2014 and my mom
attended every local, dinky play, every Christmas show I asked. She
drove around at anytime searching for any and all Christmas lights.
She put in hours in the kitchen and bore laborious amounts of loud
Christmas music (combined with my singing) for months. And it was
amazing. It was absolutely the most perfect gift that I received last
year.
My
friend, Katie, let’s me come spend time at her house. Just being
there. Doing nothing except having her attention and giving attention
to her littles. She gifts Christmas presents all year long without
even knowing it. It’s incredible!
So,
if you were to consider giving me a gift this year…let it be a
phone call, or a cupcake date, feed me Mexican food, or take me rock
climbing. And maybe consider what it is that your other loved ones
need from you? Is it another pair of boots? (I mean…maybe. I did
say boots
after all.) But maybe it’s a shopping trip where you go pick out the
right pair of boots together.
Maybe
it’s a movie night snuggled up by the fire. Maybe it’s everyone
gathered around a table, playing board games {or doing a puzzle; my brother and sister prefer the puzzle. I prefer the games} and
making jokes at each other.
I
feel I must say, lest one of you completely misinterpret my heart
here, that I am not anti-gifts or anti-things (or confused about the
meaning of Christmas). I have no problem telling you that on my “wish
list” are a standing kitchen mixer, and ipad, an electric kettle,
more books than my shelves will ever hold, and—yes—boots! Desires
are great. And allowing others to bless you with gifts in anyway is a
blessing to both of you.
I
am simply saying…less is more. And for me personally, I know that
the material things I want will still be there when I can purchase
them. I want your time. I want you. I want your attention. I want a
piece of you, not a piece of your paycheck. I want to laugh for hours
attempting to take silly selfies. I want to contemplate God’s mercy
while strolling under twinkly lights. (And, yes, this rusty, old
heart of mine shall forever remain four things: a hopeless romantic,
an intimacy adoring introvert, a damn good friend and a lover of
twinkly lights.)

Merry
Christmas, beautiful people, may you receive the most valuable
treasures each and every day.


“My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?” Bob Hope

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