Gifts of the Heart Return to the Giver

Traditions are the threads that sew the hearts of families together throughout the generations of time.  One such tradition started when I was a child in my family of seven children.  Our tradition was drawing a sibling’s name and then making a handmade gift for them for Christmas.  No buying allowed.  It was always these handmade gifts that were the most anticipated.  Not because of the monetary value, but because they were truly gifts of the heart from the giver. I recall that one year my teenage brother, Mike, made me a wooden toilet paper holder.  He was so excited to present me with his gift.  He had worked long and hard on it in his middle school wood shop class.  He had put much thought into what kind of wood it should be made of and how durable it would be.  You can imagine my bemusement when I opened his gift, complete with it’s own roll of toilet paper.  I stifled a laugh as I saw the joy in Mike’s eyes as I lifted the toilet paper roll and holder out of the box to examine it. Mike excitedly told me the pain staking process that he had gone through and how difficult making a wooden toilet paper holder really was.  Of course, I had no choice but to put Mike’s gift to use in my bathroom.  After all, I would not want to hurt his feelings.  But what surprised me was that as I used Mike’s gift day after day, I came to realize that his gift to me was not the wooden toilet paper holder. . . but it was his love for me, a true gift of the heart.  My n...
Source: Conversations with Dr Greene - Category: Pediatricians Authors: Tags: Perspectives Parenting Winter Holiday Source Type: blogs