Christmas was a little different this year. Casey and I decided against getting everyone gifts, and instead giving to the Katrina effort. Of course, we found special items for each other, and gave to the kids of our families - but outside of that, we stayed out of the gift-giving marathon Christmas has become.
Not that we're against giving and receiving gifts. It's just that Christmas has become about the gifts instead of spending time with family and friends.
It's not always like that. I gave my father a picture of him when we was probably 20 something next to one of his old cars. It was a great black and white I got from a tiny picture, and I was able to scan it and make it a lot larger. He had tears in his eyes, and hugged me hard when he opened it (December 25th just so happens to be his birthday). It meant a lot to both of us... and it felt great.
This Christmas wasn't filled with the stress of previous ones. I didn't have to worry about guessing how much someone would spend on me so I could spend the same as them. We also made it a point to give to the Katrina relief effort - as I look around at my home and all thing things we have, I have come to realize that although we are in no way rich, we have much more than many people out there could ever imagine. Christmas should be for the kids and sharing moments with family and friends... I hope we do this every year.
