I went shopping the other day and watched some children assisting their mom with Christmas wishes. That brought back memories of when my kids were small. I can remember them lying on the floor in our living room with catalogs. They were making their wish list.
They had such great conversations as to the value of a particular toy and how it would fit in with their existing toys or what it would replace. They would circle a worthy candidate in the catalog.
This went on for hours and they would revisit them periodically until the catalog magically disappeared.
After the catalog “disappeared,” my wife and I would review the selections. We always had to laugh because very few items got culled. You would either see a blue circle for our son or a red circle for our daughter.
Sometimes you even saw a red and blue number circled.
We always had a good time taking that list and working it down to what was actually given at Christmas. That time was special and one of my fondest memories.
Somehow, we always managed to buy too much and we got to enjoy the Christmas bills for the next year.
I wouldn’t have changed a thing, except maybe eliminating some of the toys that said “some assembly required” or “no tools necessary.”
I found out early that most of the instructions left out a few steps I really needed or that the 3/8-inch screw looked remarkably like the ½-inch screw and they came in the same sack.
Oh well, I always did it better the second time.
Now my son and daughter are grown and have their own families, but I still look at toys, even if the focus is now on my grandson.
Next year I will be able to have fun with two grandsons. I guess I never grew up.
We still exchange wish lists, but they are much shorter and have shifted from wants to needs. We have limited the amount of gifts given to extended family members, but we still get together during the holidays; however, we focus on the little ones, not us old folks.
Well, I guess that means I won’t be getting a Corvette for Christmas. I may get a model one, but I hope it doesn’t require assembly.
My family is very fortunate, but I see many families that are not as fortunate due to this troubled year and the downturn in the business climate.
Many folks are having to cut back or eliminate things. I hope that each of us doesn’t forget how fortunate we really are, even in the rough times.
And I would urge you to assist others through the many Hill Country programs that are available to do charitable works.
Given that thought, I want to leave you with a philosophy that was attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt:
Yesterday Is History
Tomorrow Is a Mystery
Today Is a Gift
That’s why they call it the PRESENT
We sometimes let the past kill the present. It is my families’ wish that we all let the past rest for the holidays and try to enjoy the season. Appreciate this time with family and friends. Enjoy the season; go to the Walkway of Lights in Marble Falls. Go to Main Street Bethlehem in Burnet. Go see what some other communities are doing. Appreciate the non-material things of the holidays.
Remember TODAY IS A GIFT, and open it with new feeling.
Russell is the former city manager of Marble Falls and is now the Burnet County subdivision coordinator.
