Box Full of Kisses

One of our first Christmas celebrations in Columbia, South Carolina. Dad was stationed at Fort Jackson Military Post and we lived in the apartments just off the post. This was Baby Boo, when you pulled out the pacifier, she boo hooed like crazy!!! I think my mom eventually gave her away. I loved that doll so much!

The smallest girl child would never smile for pictures. I often wondered what was going through her head. She probably wished her Mom would quit "taping" bows to her head! This was a time when they still allowed me to choose their clothes!

In my wanderings out and about I become so distressed and dismayed when parents are yelling and jerking their exhausted children around. With all the excitement and hullabaloo...children are out of their routine, they are tired, hungry and can be whiny...take them home parents...let them play and rest!!! How sad that they become a sounding board for angry, frustrated parents. I just want to scoop them up and take them home...eat popcorn, watch movies and trash the kitchen! My grandchildren frequently visit and the house is never the same... it takes hours to restore it back to "normal" but it is just stuff...the time spent with the kids is priceless.
My tree is more "decorator" style than homemade nowadays, however nothing on that tree means more to me than each child's delight as they look at it and maybe touch the ornaments. It is stuff...feelings are more important! So feel free to come on over and put your feet on the coffee table...provided you don't have on muddy boots! I came across a story similar to the one below several years ago and it sums up some of my feelings about "stuff"

A Box Full of Kisses

The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy." The man was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found out the box was empty. He yelled at her, stating, "Don't you know, when you give someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside? The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and cried, "Oh, Daddy, it's not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They're all for you, Daddy." The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness.

In a very real sense, each one of us, as humans beings, have been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses... from our children, family members, friends, and God. There is simply no other possession, anyone could hold, more precious than this.