A Green Christmas?
I assume my grandparents gave me toys as gifts when I was very young. I have pictures, anyway, with mounds of offerings to the tiny goddess that was me. Some of them had to have been from Grandpa and Grandma, since at that age, I spoke the language of toys quite fluently. (I hated baby dolls my whole life; I never knew what to do with them or why they would be fun. But I loved me some Barbie dolls, if only because they became tiny avatars for my stories and adventures. Shipwrecked, divorced, separated at birth - my Barbies were never dull. But I digress.)
After a while (and I'm not sure when), my grandmother started giving me money for my birthday and Christmas. She was so cute about it - like a little elf, she would tip-toe up to me with a smile and press a roll of bills into my hand. I always hugged her and thanked her because she was speaking to me in a language I had come to understand. I knew my grandparents didn't make much but my grandma never failed to give me the means to buy something I liked for myself. It didn't matter how much or how little she gave; it really was the thought that counted. I could add her money to other Christmas gifts if I wanted something a bit more expensive, anyway. (When you're the child of a single parent, you learn to save pretty early.) And my grandmother never assumed she would know what I wanted, so I never got something from her that ended up in the back of a closet, or in a trip back to the store. I knew that each of those green bills came straight from her simple, loving heart.
Cash is cash in my family. It's something that people work hard for, so it's never to be pooh-poohed, particularly when given as a gift. It doesn't even need a greeting card, although cards can be nice, too. You know those folks who've been raised to think that cash is a tacky or unimaginative gift? Yeah, they didn't come from my neck of the woods.
Since time is moving so swiftly, I can't help but look forward to December and since my work status for the Winter intercession is nebulous, I can't help but think on gifts. The people in my life have done a lot for me, and not just this year. I had been hoping that this extra class would leave a bit of extra cash for the holidays so I could spend more, but now it looks like that extra cash is going to need to be squirreled away.
I'm going to be more careful between now and the holidays. I'm going to start cooking at home again and resisting the urge to eat out. That should shave some extra green into my Christmas account - but it might also mean people will be getting raw green bills from me come mid-December. But at least if you've been keeping up with my schedule at all, you'll know I'll have worked hard for them!
After a while (and I'm not sure when), my grandmother started giving me money for my birthday and Christmas. She was so cute about it - like a little elf, she would tip-toe up to me with a smile and press a roll of bills into my hand. I always hugged her and thanked her because she was speaking to me in a language I had come to understand. I knew my grandparents didn't make much but my grandma never failed to give me the means to buy something I liked for myself. It didn't matter how much or how little she gave; it really was the thought that counted. I could add her money to other Christmas gifts if I wanted something a bit more expensive, anyway. (When you're the child of a single parent, you learn to save pretty early.) And my grandmother never assumed she would know what I wanted, so I never got something from her that ended up in the back of a closet, or in a trip back to the store. I knew that each of those green bills came straight from her simple, loving heart.
Cash is cash in my family. It's something that people work hard for, so it's never to be pooh-poohed, particularly when given as a gift. It doesn't even need a greeting card, although cards can be nice, too. You know those folks who've been raised to think that cash is a tacky or unimaginative gift? Yeah, they didn't come from my neck of the woods.
Since time is moving so swiftly, I can't help but look forward to December and since my work status for the Winter intercession is nebulous, I can't help but think on gifts. The people in my life have done a lot for me, and not just this year. I had been hoping that this extra class would leave a bit of extra cash for the holidays so I could spend more, but now it looks like that extra cash is going to need to be squirreled away.
I'm going to be more careful between now and the holidays. I'm going to start cooking at home again and resisting the urge to eat out. That should shave some extra green into my Christmas account - but it might also mean people will be getting raw green bills from me come mid-December. But at least if you've been keeping up with my schedule at all, you'll know I'll have worked hard for them!