The Gift

It was Christmas. I was about 13 years old. Even though I had a large family, I usually only bought for four people – my next oldest sister, my next oldest brother, my mother and my dad. I would have loved to buy for everybody, but with a budget of only $5, buying gifts for four was stretching it. I didn’t get an allowance like most of the other kids at school, so I didn’t have much to spend. I don’t even remember where I got the $5.

Dad was always the easiest. I’d go into Kresge’s and buy him some work socks for 99 cents. It was something he always needed and it became a tradition in my family.

The budget for my brother and sister was about a dollar each, too. They were a bit more difficult to buy for, but I did my best.

Without a doubt, the hardest person to buy for was my mom. Having so many children, after so many Christmases, she had almost everything $2 could buy.

I remember going to Northtown Plaza and walking around for hours searching for the perfect gift. For my mom, it had to be the perfect gift for two reasons. I wanted to please my mom, and she was noted for speaking her mind. If she got something she didn’t like, she let people know.

After much soul searching, I decided what would be my perfect gift for her. It was actually two gifts, a natural sponge and an extension cord. Nothing says love like a natural sponge and an extension cord.

On Christmas Eve, my brother asked, “What did you get mom for Christmas?” My confession was met with immediate peals of laughter. My sister in the next room asked him what he was laughing at. He told her and her laughter joined in on the chorus. The laughing got so loud that mom eventually shouted upstairs, “What’s all that laughing about?” My brother replied, “Your gift from Johnny.”

You can imagine the feelings I had the next day when I handed my mom my gifts. Forget the fact that it is difficult to wrap a natural sponge and an extension cord. I just wanted her to like what I got.

Carefully she opened each one. She wasn’t really sure what the natural sponge was. To her, a sponge was rectangular and usually yellow. This brown sphere in front of her required an imagination to figure out what to do with it. She recognized the extension cord, though. She mumbled something about both gifts being practical and thanked me for them. I did recognize the fact that she really did try to look excited about my gifts, but let’s face it. It is pretty hard to find much emotion about a natural sponge and an extension cord.

It took me many years to learn my lesson. Like my mom, I too often looked at a gift and determined whether it was useful to me. Living through the depression, she determined whether something was a waste of money or not, and I was the same. What I failed to do was to focus on the giver and the spirit with which it is given. That is what is essential.

As an occasional teacher, kids sometimes give me something at the end of the day. Sometimes they are very hurried, and they are usually not very attractive. You know what? I cherish their gifts so much. Often words are misspelled and the grammar is poor. These children will never know this. There is no error in their way. Regardless of the artistry of the gift, I have learned to see the heart of the giver. To me, that is so precious.

At Christmas, I still don’t tend to give expensive gifts. However, I do spend time on the gifts I give. I use my imagination and think of the person while I am searching. For birthdays and events, I often make my own cards. You see, I am still that young boy who has only $5, but is giving from the bottom of his heart. I have tried to see that person in everybody who gives me a gift.