Gifted Children

My children are gifted. Frequently and generously every winter holiday season. I don’t hate it, but I’m not thrilled about it either. The thing is, even without their parents buying them a single Christmas gift, they would be spoiled with presents each year. They are lucky enough to have a big extended family of grandparents, aunts, uncles, great-aunts and great uncles who love them to the moon and back. All those loving people want to give something thoughtful and fun to my boys at Christmas time. I can not deny them the pleasure. It wouldn’t be right.

They get some really cool awesome toys and things. Like robot kits and giant Lego sets that we, their humble parents, could never afford. But we really don’t NEED any of these things. And it is SO much STUFF. I’m particularly sensitive about it because we live in such a small house. There is barely space enough to store all the toys they already have and now there are bags of new items just sitting in my living room waiting for me to find a place to store them. Oh yeah, it’s not just kid stuff. There is grown up stuff too, because we, the parents, are also quite gifted this time of year. It is a mixed bag. A few super sweet useful things and a bunch of stuff we did not need or want.

Of course I am thankful. Mostly I am grateful because our lives are blessed to be filled with loving family that care for us. The gifted nature of the holidays I could really take or leave. I have mixed feelings about receiving crap that I’m just going to donate to a charity thrift shop. It seems wasteful and over-consumptive. But there are those special gifts we’ve received that we use again and again for years afterwards that we wouldn’t have otherwise and I’m so appreciative of that. Like this cozy lap blanket/comforter that I’m attached to like a child with her blanky. Or a ceramic loaf pan which I never would have bought myself, but that I use all the time.

My gifted children didn’t need any more toys this year. They are 8 and 10 years old and they hardly play with toys anyway. They play outside biking, scootering, or playing ball. Or they read or draw or play video games. That takes up about 98% of their free time. Maybe even 99%. And then they play with toys last. But like I say, there is always 1 or 2 gifts in a year that are so cool, I can’t just diss the whole affair outright.

I just have to accept the fact. My children are very gifted.