Christmas Past: Wants vs. Needs

[NOTE: The most important message of this post is the Thought for Today near the end...don't stop short...what if you missed it?]

Seems like yesterday we were getting ready for Thanksgiving and here we are today full force into Christmas. As I ponder the Christmas season, my reflections go back to Grandpa and Grandma. Times were so different way back when: Different indeed without today's technology fuss! Some say life was simpler back in the day but, of course, that is debatable considering all of the hardships endured without any of today's so-called modern amenities.

Think about it...

Can you imagine NO indoor plumbing, NO television, NO cellphone (in fact, NO phone period), NO electrical appliances (that includes NO dishwasher other than by hand and scrubboards instead of washing machines), NO central heat or air conditioning, NO automobiles, NO airlines, NO motorcycles...and the list goes on and on even to include personal items, such as, NO deodorant, NO toothbrushes or toothpaste, NO hair styling products. Surely you get my point...life was hard, VERY hard with difficulties totally unimaginable to people (mostly youth) today! Yet, through faith, hope and courage, life persevered and not without times of celebration and thankfulness.

Christmas is a joyous season but with it comes a touch of sadness. For me, this year is the second Christmas without my mother and sister-in-law but not a day has gone by without either one in my thoughts. Of course, I continuously think of Daddy who has been gone for many, many years and reminisce of football ballgames, hunting and fishing trips, daddy/daughter talks, introducing my first boyfriend and learning how to swim. Even though sadness is definitely part of the scene, when I look upward to Heaven, I envision their faces and smile.

Since this picture in 2007, my sister-in-law (blonde on left) and

Mother (seated) are no longer with us. Their Christmas is now

among the angels in heaven.

I am digressing a bit so let's get back to Christmas in times past when stores were not so readily available for shopping and gifts were not counted in number but thought out carefully filled with love and overflowing with emotion. It was not a time of piling gift after gift under the tree while wishing and hoping for more, more, more. It was a time of giving and receiving a gift of the heart with any exchange of gifts usually being ones made by hand. Sometimes it turned out to be a gift wanted but more often it was a gift needed.

The poetry writing for today is titled Toys 'n' Things. Hopefully, its verses will trigger memories as you remember...

Toys ‘n' Things

When it came to holidays
Mama had everything under control
Baking cookies, wrapping presents
Decorating windows and the hall

 

 

Christmas Eve kept everyone busy
And the house full of holiday cheer

Papa and Jimmy left at daybreak
On the hunt for the perfect deer

 

 

We’d wake up Christmas morning
Feeling the keen sense of surprise
Excitement in our hearts
The minute we opened our eyes

 

 

Still in our pajamas, hair all a muss
We stretched, yawned, still half asleep
Jumped out of bed before Mama and Papa
Just to manage a sneaky little peek

Catching sunbeams through the open window
Were the branches of a scrawny little tree
Underneath were handmade toys ‘n' things
The most thankful sight we ever did see

©2009 Remembering
Sharla Lee Shults 

Thought for Today:

In this season of Christmas, there are many souls who will not be celebrating the joyousness of the season. Some are homeless, others in poverty while many are grieving the loss of family members, loved ones and friends. It is during this time we should all the thankful for the blessings of life and share with others who are less fortunate.

STOP! Just think...

 ...if one gift was taken from underneath your tree and given to someone who had nothing, would you really miss it?

 ...if the amount of money spent on one single gift was given to a person or family who fell victim to Sandy, would you miss it?

...if one visit was made to an elderly person in a nursing home with a gift already purchased, would you miss it?

...if one gift for a child was taken to another child in the hospital, would it be missed or would the visit with the gift indeed be the best Christmas present to remember?

...if - the biggest little word in the dictionary - what if you dropped thoughts of 'if' and just did it?