starting with calm--the nap on the couch after the turkey kicks in--before the huge storm of the Christmas Season--3 AM store openings on Black Friday. I'm not going to be philosophical, except to suggest that I want to think differently about ourselves/time as gifts, over the latest gadget from Best Buy.Maybe I'm just getting older, but as much as I love seeing presents under the Christmas tree, I love getting together with friends and family a lot more. Gifts are soon forgotten after the frenzy of tearing through the paper, but memories take a little more to be gone forever. By looking at old journals, pictures, and reminiscing, I talk about the past in terms of experiences shared with loved ones, not always remembering what I had unwrapped that year. Maybe my liberal philosophy is transfering over to more aspects of my life as the economy still seems to be less than sturdy. Or, maybe this is a fancy way of writing that "There's no money, honey" for gifts this year (I am a grad student after-all). I don't know for sure yet. As a gift to myself, I'm going to allow myself to make a more conscious effort this holiday season to experience more fully my surroundings and to enjoy its offerings.
First of all, as a member of the retail community, Black Friday should be outlawed (our company is making us open at Midnight...aaahh!).
ReplyDeleteSecond, my family also decided that gifts were not nearly as important as sharing food and company. Gifts are so temporary, memories are forever!
Enjoy your time with your family!
Not really related to this post (sorry!), but I just wanted to say thanks for your praxis paper ideas in your comment on my blog! I like the idea of making the short time window an explicit idea in the paper, as inspired by your lovely comment. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree with you more. Maybe it is the growing up (my 6-year-old brother still builds a little present fort on Christmas morning) but gift opening has slowly but surely become my least favorite aspect of Christmas Day. I'd much rather just sit around playing board games or watching a movie together. Man, getting old is rough.
ReplyDeleteI am so with you on this as well- we are on a tight budget this year and seriously beyond socks and tea we don't really have any wants beyond family time. We moved back here to be near them, so most of my presents this year are going to be time together- classes at the Co-op or Home Ec, babysitting coupons, movie passes...it is fun to give memories.
ReplyDeleteI often feel the same way about Christmas. The time is meant for sharing time with your family and enjoying the memories. Sometimes we just need to put the thoughts of presents aside and take away what is truly meaningful from the holidays, :).
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