Friday, December 21, 2007

Secret Santa Dissapointment



DD, Miss J has been home with the latest virus. Flopped on the sofa like a limp dish rag. Feverish, and achy. With one thing on her mind - the Secret Santa at her school. The party was today, but Miss J did not go to school, and in a way that is so not Miss J's style, she said that the thought of cupcakes and candy made her stomach turn. Yikes!! The kid is really sick!!

Just before the half day dismissal, I took my cards that I knit up for the teachers, and met up with Master E (DS12) and had him deliver them to each teacher. I didn't feel like sharing my germs with the teachers, I'm selfish like that ... LOL. Then we picked up the Secret Santa gift, at Miss J's class. The little boy who had chosen my DD Miss J, was so eager to tell me that he was her Secret Santa. I like this little boy. He is so sweet.

While I was out my two girls were at home counting the minutes off to DH, excited to unwrap a present a few days before Christmas. Remember that feeling? I remember Christmas day taking forever to come, so any little gift that I could unwrap early was a thrill!
I came into the house and the girls were so excited. My heart fell for Miss J when I handed her the SS gift. It was a small box, flat and long. It wasn't the WebK!nz that she was hoping for. The same one that she bought for *her* SS gift... She opened the box... and the tears began. She got a nice pen and pencil set. It's really nice. And normally she enjoys pens. She is always asking me to buy her cute pens for school. But, as she said, "For a Secret Santa gift?!?!?!" sigh... all she could think of was how she made someone happy by giving them a WebK!inz and she got a gift that in her opinion was not quite up to gift standards. OK, good parenting moment here. I told her that God appreciates when we give and it *hurts*. Sacrifice is nice. God sees that it hurts and He knows that it is hard and He appreciates our sacrifices!
Then I told her about my cards. Truthfully, it was hard to give the little sock ornaments away...And I kept re-thinking my gift... but then I realized that I can make more, and that these little stockings may make the teachers feel good. In the end, the hurt that I feel is small compared to the joy that I can give to others.

Master E, who is 12, was so sweet. When Miss J started sobbing he went over to her and hugged her and told her that it would all be OK. What more could a mother wish for! Where is Master E now? With DH, shopping for Christmas presents for his two sisters. Betcha he will make his sisters smile on Christmas morning. I know that he made both DH and I smile this afternoon. maybe we are doing okay with these kids.... 'cause sometimes I wonder.

May I just add that my personal opinion in Secret Santa gifts is that they just should NOT be exchanged in school. Someone always walks away dissappointed. It happened to me in third grade. My mom made some Barbie clothes for my person, and I got a Christmas card. Yep, a card, that was all. My kids do go to a Catholic school, so we are allowed to have Christmas parties, and plays and other Christ based activities... so I am just focusing on the gift exchange part of it. Or at least have the child list a few things that they would be interested in receiving... but then that just takes all the fun out of it. So see? it's just easier to not have it. In any case, I am hoping that my three lovely children have learned from this. Miss J, needs to realize that she needs to be gracious, and Master E stepped up and was a great big brother.

Off to make chicken soup for my sick fanily!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I think I am with you on this. It seems a bit tricky. We did it in high school but it was a boarding school and the idea was to give little treats everyday, like an advent calendar.
Hope you guys get rested up and are 100% for Santa's visit.