Sunday, January 1, 2012

Priceless Gifts

This was a good holiday; a record low two returns and one ingested Nerf dart. No worries, it - um, resurfaced a short time later. (The four legged child has an unquenchable taste for orange foam.)

Under the tree, gifts were few but full of meaning. For the first time my oldest son bought me a book! Yes folks, a book! My non-reader made the trip to the bookstore and contrary to his long held belief, did NOT burst into flames. Without help, he selected Janet Evanovich’s Explosive Eighteen; I plowed through it in 24 hrs. Happy Mommy.

The kids’ both received their most pleaded for gift– a bike & XBOX, and as a result Hubby and I unwrapped a week of blissful silence. The dreaded “I’m bored” was met with “Go ride your bike or blow something up.” Yes, I realize this knocks me out of the running for Parent of the Year – but they can keep the plaque; I had calm.

Hubby and I did not exchange gifts this year. (Thank you October Snowmagedon and subsequent wallet bleeding home repairs.) No, wait, that’s not completely true. I gave him a hair brush, (he steals mine when he travels) and he cleaned our bedroom from ceiling fan to hardwood. That may not sound like a big deal, but here’s a visual – think Sanford and Son meets Occupy Wall Street. Cram in a king size bed under Himalayan piles of laundry and you’ve got the picture.

The best gift came from Grandpa Bill. A wildlife artist, we see far too little of Grandpa. He and Nana Carol live in sunny FL and although their gifts are always special, this year was spectacular!


Yep, that’s our Maggie, in all her Nerf eating glory, hand drawn by Grandpa and now proudly hung in the family room. Just goes to show, the most priceless gifts come without price tags.

Happy New Year!

6 comments:

Leigh Covington said...

Those pictures are amazing! What a special Christmas! And I am with you on the "parent of the year" award. Don't care. My kids can go enjoy their new Nintendo DS's and leave me in silence :) It's heavenly!

Anonymous said...

thoughtful and talented too....

Anonymous said...

Gifts were downplayed at our house, too. In fact, they were barely a blip on holiday screen. Were it not for satisfying my Mom with a family exchange, our tree would have been bare.

Kathryn Elliott said...

Happy New Year my blog friends!

Leigh - maybe we should start a support group? Parents For Silence? :-)

Hi Jane! Aren't simple Christmases the best? I think we breathe more, stress less.

Bethany Crandell said...

Aw...little Maggie. Labs are notorious nibblers, aren't they?!

Like you, I enjoyed my nowhere-near-parent-of-the-year accolades by allowing my children to watch all four of their Christmas DVDs simultaneously...three days in a row. (There must be SOME educational value in Cars 2)

Happy New Year, friend!

Kathryn Elliott said...

Happy New Year, Bethany! Glad my dismal parenting has such fun company!