Okay, so I’m going to talk about something that happened the other day at work. A teenage girl, probably around fourteen or fifteen years old, walks up to the counter with her friend and orders. Shes clearly really frustrated and as I’m packing her order, I find out why.
“I can’t believe Mother only got me 6 tickets to Thailand for Christmas. Like, seriously, now i can’t bring all my friends. And really? Thailand? That’s so 2012.”
I kinda did a double take and thought her words over. She got six tickets to Thailand, for christmas, so she could take all her friends over there? This was her Christmas present from her mum? Her family was obviously loaded, but that wasn’t what disgusted me. This girl was complaining about it!! There kids in Africa who have no christmas, no presents, no food, no parents, no friends, no hope, yet this girl has the nerve to complain?!
I didn’t say anything to her of course, I don’t like conflict, because she was probably just an insolent little girl anyway. But it made me pretty sad for the rest of the day. What happened to christmas being about giving, and spending time with your loved ones? What happened to the caring and sharing and overbearing hugs? Now it’s all just greed, selfishness, lusting over the possibilities of what lay under the tree.
So this year, for Christmas, just forget about the presents. Un wrap yours then put them to the side and watch as your family and friends unwrap gifts from you. Watch the laughter over lunchtime, the smiles as the kids run amuck, the happy tears from once lost memories. Christmas is a time for families to come together. Christmas is a time for love. So when you hug your family goodbye, hug them a little tighter, because you never know if they’ll be there next christmas.
