Christmas day several of us decided we wanted to visit our
kids and give them some Christmas cookies, so a group of us left with it
looking a little rainy hoping to impart some Christmas cheer on these little
ones. We walked to the top of the hill to their “neighborhood” and all of our
kids and more came running at us from a field to greet us with huge smiles and
hugs. We normally see about 12 kids on a regular basis, but today we had
several new faces and they were just as excited to see us.
While crossing the
field I started talking with one of the boys, Jason, about how his Christmas
was going and he tells me that it was great and that his present was a plate of
watermelon. A plate of watermelon! My heart immediately broke for him because
at home I normally would start listing off a whole bunch of stuff I got (even
as an adult), but this little boy got just a plate of fruit and was so excited
about his plate of watermelon that he was carrying it around with him
everywhere. I remember when I was a little kid and would carry my new toys with
me everywhere, but then I would get bored with them and toss them to the side.
Jason didn’t even have the chance to get bored with his Christmas present
because he was inhaling that fruit as fast as he could in all of his excitement.
He was more proud of his fruit than I ever was of a my-size Barbie, or new
dress. I wanted to give him everything I had in that moment, just to make it a
“real” Christmas for him. But in that moment I realized this is a real
Christmas. Why do I think he had a bad Christmas because he only got a plate of
fruit? He was so happy and he was spending his time with his friends and family
playing in the yard having the time of his life.
This is Christmas, not expensive presents, but enjoying the
things you do have and enjoying it with the people around you.
