My Favorite Christmas Gifts

I have two very favorite Christmas gifts that I will cherish forever. The first one is a gift given to me by a man I was dating about 24 years ago. At the time, I was a single mom, living in sparsely furnished rentals. There was barely enough money for essentials let alone anything extra. So, when I was presented with quite a heavy tall rectangular box, wrapped in Christmas paper, I was curious. It was too heavy to be a blender, but close to the right size. So, I opened it up and here was this bright, fire engine red antique reproduction gum ball machine. It was beautiful. The cheery, red color added a bright spot to an otherwise dull and dreary apartment. It served no real purpose, but was just plain fun to look at. It was not easy being alone raising my children and the gum ball machine allowed me to lapse into a moment of childlike delight every time I looked at it. And in that moment, I was not a stressed out mom. I was a curly haired little girl again, penny in hand, hoping my favorite flavor would come rolling out when I cranked the handle.

I was afraid that if I put real gum balls in the machine, the kids would never leave it alone and it would get broken. So I partially filled it with Chinese Checker marbles and you couldn't tell it wasn't gum. To placate the kids, I would occasionally get them some real gum balls, but we never put them in the machine. The gum ball machine has brightened a spot in every home that I have lived in since.

Several years ago, I ran into the man who gave me the gift. We talked about old times and I invited him over one day. We were sitting in the living room, when all at once he asked, "Where did you get that gum ball machine?" I followed his gaze to the shiny, red object and smiled. "You don't remember?". I asked. His eyes sparkled as he said, "I can't believe you still have that thing after all of these years." I will cherish it always.

The second favorite gift was given to me by a friend where I work. Some years ago at work, I made a transition to a new department. I hadn't quite found a way to fit in with the new group, which was tightly knit. One day, we were sent a temporary to train, a young man close to the age of my youngest daughter. He was a hard worker and we got along great. I took him under my wing and taught him all I knew about the department. We made a great team, so it really didn't matter to me at that point if I worked my way into the "group" or not. Strangely enough, our friendship must have piqued the curiosity of the others and they began to talk to both of us. Pretty soon, we were one big family, (dysfunctional, yes, but still family). The young man and I had many long discussions over lunch or while working side by side and we talked about all sorts of things. Our values, or work ethics, our families, hopes, dreams, fears, anything was easy for us to open up to each other with. So, Christmas came and we brought gifts for each other. We also exchanged some small gifts with the rest of our "family." He gave me a gift certificate to a department store as guys will do when they are clueless as to what to give a woman. But there was another package in addition to the card with the gift certificate. It was very carefully wrapped and decorated with a bow. I opened it up and inside was a copy of the book, Black Beauty by Anna Sewell.

I was blown away. Clueless was one thing this guy was NOT! During one of our many conversations, somehow, the book had come up. I had told him that not only was it one of my favorite childhood stories, but I had read it to my children and they loved it too. Being a woman, I know that most of the time, when you are just talking to a man, more than likely, he is staring mutely, smiling, nodding and not absorbing a word you say. C'mon guys, admit it, you know it's true. This conversation had taken place months before and even I had forgotten about it until that moment. The old saying "Actions speak louder than words" was so exemplified at that moment. Not a word was uttered, but this gift said to me, "You are my friend and I care enough to listen and actually hear what you say." The message behind the gift will always be cherished as much as the book itself.