The Beautiful Christmas Gift

I was a little worried about how on earth I was going to afford any Christmas presents for my kids that year. That cold, wonderful year. I must admit I will never forget it.

My oldest was about eight, his sister Anna was three, and we had just had baby Jon. The oldest, Bobby, was always a big help with his siblings, and he was well, so-so with his chores, but he got most of them done without too much complaint.

Anna, we had found out that year, was hearing impaired. I was going back and forth to the audiologist, and brought along a tape of her talking one time to one of her doctor's appointments. We were all laughing and talking on the tape, yet my daughter's speech was very unintelligible.and I knew that chances were good she had some pretty severe hearing problems. All that attention seemed to kind of get to Bobby. I never realized back then just how much until that day we all went shopping.

I managed to give Bobby and Anna each five dollars to spend on either themselves, family members, or both. Anna picked out a necklace for herself and chose presents for the rest of the family. Bobby went with Dad, so I didnt find out what he had gotten. I asked Bobby if he needed to go anywhere privately to wrap presents, but he said no. Hmmm, I thought. I wonder what's up with that.

I went into the room where his dad was studying for a final. "So what did Bobby manage to pick out?" I asked him. "Well, he really wanted that action figure, so it wound up costing all of his money," his dad told me.

It really kind of surprised me. Bobby was usually a very thoughtful boy, and was just crazy about his little sister and new baby brother. But, after all, I had told him that this was his choice. Still, his choice wasn't what I had expected.

The next morning, I took Bobby to school, and when we got home, I started washing the dishes. Anna was playing in her room with her dolls, and the baby was sound asleep. I took the lid off the trash can, and I can't believe I didn't see it before. Maybe it was the hurry we were in that morning, I don't know. But there, under a few coffee grounds, was that little Ninja turtle action figure. My eyes welled up, and my heart felt such a surge of pride. Sure, my boy had a moment of just wanting something for himself, and felt regret afterwards. He hadn't said a single word to me about it, and there it was..his guillt, laying in the garbage.

Now, years later, he's keeping all of his siblings for me tonight, he and his new wife. It was his gift to me, to give me time alone for an entire weekend with my husband.  He took the kids to pick out lots of gifts. And believe me, all of his siblings are just as crazy about him as I am. His biggest gift, his most prized gift, was and always will be, himself.