Thoughtfulness Thought Provoking

I am not sure what it is about this year, that has made me desire thoughtfulness so much. It may be the years I see flying past me, my babies growing way too fast, my loved ones aging, the dividing of my grandmother's belongings, or the state of our economy.

I do know that this holiday season, I wanted to truly take the time and effort to genuinely think about those I loved. To give them a gift of my thoughts, so to speak--not written out, but a token to represent my love and thoughtfulness about them. I did not want to give them something necessarily useful, or valuable in the essence of money--but something to cherish and something much more valuable to that person.

Some people think that is a way to get out of "spending money"-- but, in all honesty I spent just as much, if not more money in developing the thoughtful gifts.

I wanted to give gifts to pass on thru generations, gifts w/ a story behind them, gifts that will want to be kept when the loved one has passed and their items will be divided up among the living. Something that brings a smile, a tear, a story to mind--something worth sharing and something worth giving.

For instance, my little brother, freshly home from Iraq/Germany brought my mom a beautiful cuckoo clock from Germany--b/c she had always expressed she would love one--this is something one passes on for generations--her mother had always had them, and now she could have one to pass on to Adam and his family one day. The gift was not about how much it cost, although it was not cheap by any means--but, it was about the thought behind the gift.

I gave various things, but among them, my favorite gift, was the cheapest, I gave him a book to write his recipes in--b/c I know and support his desire to share his wonderful recipes w/ others one day.

Kyle also received a set of small bowls from my parents, that were not on a list of any sort--but, communicated to him--"I listened to you, I remembered, and I thought of you when I saw these."

There are other examples of course--but, my concern is: has the rest of the world lost this spirit of giving--the kind of giving that takes more than a wallet filled with money-- the kind of giving that takes heart.

Has it really come down to just checking off what is on someones list?

I look at the "things" I have acquired over the years--and the things I will pass down for generations--will be the things that cost little, but have so much meaning. I can't tell you how many times I looked at the stockings hung on our fireplace this year, and thought about how many years they will be w/me...and how many years they will be w/ my kids--

They were handmade by my mom and I, last year--they are small, a little crooked, and I would never, EVER use a store bought one--for the rest of my years.

I hope that others received or gave something of this magnitude this Christmas--

If you did--please comment below