UNEXPECTED GIFTS

The thoughtful gift that got our
Christmas season started.

Every once in a while, there are moments in life that take your breath away. I had one on Thanksgiving Day, when the Younger Sister gave me a knitted red hat and scarf, a Christmas outfit for the Little One.

"Mom made these," she said as she handed the items to me.

Mom passed away four and a half years ago, well before any of her children had kids of their own. The Little One is the first grandchild in the family, and there is not a day that passes without me wishing Mom could have held him at least once.

So here we are, a month before the Little One experiences his first Christmas, and I already know what my favorite gift of the season will be. Hard to top the kind of love that results in someone knitting a Christmas hat and scarf five years ahead of time. Not only that, but to make sure someone in the family had the items for safe keeping.

Damn it. It's been a few days, and it still has me… well, you know.

I'm not sure if the hat will still fit by the time Christmas comes (the Little One inherited Daddy's large Irish dome), but the Wife already made sure the outfit will be a part of our first Christmas. Over the weekend, she did a photo shoot with the Little One in his Christmas outfit for the purpose of doing our holiday cards.

Wish I could share some of those photos here, but we want to send out the cards to friends and family first. Safe to say, it's the first time ever that I'm excited to do holiday cards, a task I normally view with the same enthusiasm as raking a yard full of leaves or mopping a house full of floors.

As we discussed last week, our goal is to start early with teaching the Little One that this season is more about appreciation than gifts. With a gift that was very much unexpected, Mom and the Younger Sister have certainly gotten us off to a great start.