Better to give than to receive...

LONG post WARNING!

"It is better to give than to receive", This is honestly one of the most important messages I want Blake to learn as he is growing up!  This season is all about getting.  Presents, food, Toys, stockings filled with loot and candy..it is VERY easy to get lost in the season and forget what it is really all about.  I know as a child my first priority was my toys (and it should be for a child, in my opinion that is the fun of Christmas)  But, my hope is that if Brian and I model that we like to give to the people who don't have enough, our kids will grow up remembering other people and hopefully taking time to share their talents or gifts with those less fortunate.  Now, Christmas can be expensive that is for sure!  As I type this on Christmas Eve, our tree is STASHED with presents so full there is no room to even fill it with fresh water!  I want that for my son!  I am not ashamed or embarrassed to say I want him to be spoiled with gifts, have fun thinking about Santa coming on Christmas Eve, wake up to see LOADS of presents and sense the magic of the season just as we did as kids.  I also want him to realize how lucky he is.  We may not have the biggest house, the best cars, the most money, but we are blessed beyond belief!  I want him to realize what we have and that, sadly, others do not.  I want him to see that he can light up someones life and make their day a bit brighter by sharing even in the tinniest bit.  SO - We started a new family tradition this year that I am very excited about!  Blake and I went to Target and spent $16 to get gifts for 5 strangers.  The plan was the make the "gift bags" and hand them out to random people.  It could be a store clerk, it could be a teacher, it could me a mom who seemed tired and frustrated at the store...anyone who was loosing sight of the reason for the season and anyone who needed a small pick me up.  Inside each of the small gift bags was a small chocolate Santa, a pretty gold ornament, a set of hand warmers and a holiday scented hand lotion.  Noting expensive and nothing extraordinary, but just a small token to make them smile.  As Blake was stuffing the bags on Thursday, Brian suggested we take them to a nursing home where his grandma lived the last year of her life.  I immediately thought it was a great idea!  I was excited everyone was getting excited to hand out these bags.  What we encountered was amazing and each person was so different, I have no doubt those specific people were the ones we were suppose to meet this year!

We went into the nursing home and asked around for 5 people who don't get visited a lot.  We thought it would be nice to visit those who don't get visitors.  However, there wasn't really a "list" they could give us.  The residents were just finished with dinner and a group of them were in the community family room.  The CNA suggested we just go to some rooms and visit whoever was there.  The only suggestion she gave to us was to visit "Anne" in room 101.  So, Anne was our first stop.  The CNA said that Anne had been having a very rough day and she would probably like the surprise!  Perfect!

Anne - This was by far my FAVORITE!  As I walked into this sweet eldery ladies home, I heard the song "she's a brick house" and found a disco light by a small christmas tree.  Sitting next to it, Anne...with her tray of food on her lap and hooked up to oxygen.  We talked to Anne and she was very surprised to see us.  It was hard for Blake to understand her, but I was so proud that he was not scared or shy to talk to someone who looked "different".  He answered her questions and she informed us that she had a three year old great grandson and then showed us a picture!  Blake wished her a Merry Christmas and after a short conversation about what he wants for Christmas, we were off and ready to meet our second guest.

Our second guest was in the hallway as we left Anne's room and was in a wheel chair.  Regretfully, I don't remember her name.  She was asking about Piper and how old "he" was and then she asked about Blake and how old "she" was ;)  We told her what we were doing and offered her a gift bag and said Merry Christmas.  She asked if she could give Blake a candy from her room.  Watching her try to move her wheelchair into the doorway correctly so she would fit, struggle with her keys to get the door unlocked and then use her crippled foot to open the door into her 1 bedroom/living room apartment was a lot to take in.  We asked her what she was doing for Christmas and she told us about her family she would be seeing.  As we left, I looked at Brian and he said "it just makes you appreciate what we have".  Boy was he right and we still had 3 bags left!

Donna - As we went to find a third person to give a gift bag too, we walked past an upright, quick walking, young looking elderly lady.  It sounds bad, but in my mind I thought "oh she looks really good, lets find someone who needs it more"...we walked around for a while and that same lady passed us again.  I didn't think it was a coincidence so, I approached her and explained what we were doing.  She took the gift bag, proceeded to open it and give all of the contents in the bag to Blake!  He was confused, but even at 3 I think he realized that she didn't understand!  I am proud of how he handled that situation as he thanked her for the chocolate and then politely declined the hand warmers.  I could not tell if she had a hard time mentally or just couldn't hear us, but either way I am glad we ran across Donna!

The sweetest couple - As we were walking the halls trying to find a door that we felt would be a good fit, we stumbled across a couple!  There was a picture under their name slot and Brian was actually the one who called them out and suggested we visit them!  I am SO glad we did!  I knocked and the most adorable old man I had ever seen, reached over from his easy chair and opened the door!  They were comfy in their chairs in their "living room" and watching a tv show.  The old man was much more talkative than the wife, but she was all smiles!  Blake said "hi" and the old man offered Blake to come in and see a statue they had of two angels kissing under a Christmas Tree.  They thanked us multiple times even in that short conversation!

Lastly, we went into our last room and we saw a sweet elderly lady hooked up to oxygen.  Once we told her what we were doing, she said thank you and quickly asked if she could give Blake something.  I said sure and she got up and brought out two stuffed animals to give to Blake.  A serta matress sheep and a stuffed owl with a graduation cap on.  Blake said thank you and we visited a bit more about her family and plans for the holidays.  As we were leaving I saw her crippled fingers hold the door and one word came to mind 'Tired'.  She was the sweetest lady and asked Blake if she could give him a kiss goodbye.  Now, I am not sure (even at 28) that I would say yes to a stranger hooked up to oxygen in her night gown giving me a kiss, but...he said yes with a huge smile!

On the way out to the parking lot he said "mom, that was really nice of us to give to those people".  I said, "yes Blake, my heart is happy"...."me too, mommy"

 stuffing the bags

getting ready to go in 

Those of you who know me, know that I like to take pictures (just a tad)!  I didn't this time.  It wasn't about showing off that we did this, or how cute Blake looked handing out his bags, it was about doing something special - and that we did!

I can't wait until next year!