When I was a kid, 9 or 10 I think, there was a Firestone dealership near my home in Fredericksburg, VA, and along with automotive parts they also sold bicycles. I was walking by the store one day and immediately fell in love with this one bicycle. It was red, with red glitter, a tall sissy bar, a banana seat and coolest of all, a steering wheel instead of regular handlebars. I was obsessed with that bike. I would walk the half-mile from my house at least 3-4 times a week, just to stare at that bike and wish that it was mine. From my kids perspective, I never saw us as poor, and we werent, but we werent rich either. We always had food and a roof over our heads, but my dad made his living as an honest preacher and didnt make much above the household budget, being the breadwinner for mom and four growing boys. We were into the reuse-reduce-recycle thing long before it was cool. I talked about that bike incessantly, but even then I saw it as a luxury, and I didnt think Id ever get it. Christmas gifts in our home tended to be on the practical side, underwear and socks and the such. Its what families on a budget do. There was always something fun, but these were usually smaller items. So I can still remember how surprised, even shocked, I was that Christmas morning when I woke up and saw THAT bike next to the tree. My mouth must have hung open for a good minute, and then I couldnt be shut up for the next ten, just going on about it. And then I remember feeling gratitude, gratitude that my mom and dad made the decision to work the family budget a little harder, just to make that dream of mine a reality. Decades later, still one of my fondest Christmas memories. The bike is long-gone, but the memory is still fresh and happy and joyous. Tomorrow morning, as you clean up the pile of boxes and only-used-once wrapping paper and maybe grumble to yourself that the holiday has gotten too material and that its just a big corporate moneymaker, stop and remember for a minute that maybe your gift to someone, or the gift that someone gave to you, took some care and thought and was given in love, because they really just wanted to see you smile. And may tomorrow be one more in a long list of happy memories for you and the ones you love. Peace.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 20:27:39 +0000
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