Good morning! This month, my gift to you is blog posts visits from Christmases past. At the end of this post, credit is given to the weekly memes I participated in at the time of its publication December 13, 2011. Some minor fixes needed tending to as things go in Blogosphere but for the most part the original content is nearly the same. This is for your enjoyment, no comments are needed. 😉
If you’re like me, then there were Christmases you didn’t get what you wanted. Growing up in southern West Virginia, as a girl times were always tough. None of us kids complained or at least not much. We were happy, well-adjusted kids living in humble conditions.
One of my inspirational writing prompts this week is by Hello Giggles “List 10 things I wanted for Christmas as a kid, but didn’t get and still want.” I figured this would be a breeze to come up with but it wasn’t.
Despite the things I wanted and didn’t get, I never felt that I was without. So, for the fun of it, let’s walk through Christmas past to see what this once little girl had on her wish list.
#1
One helpful thing which alleviated much of my longing for this toy was my best friend, Anita who got one and was she was totally selfless in sharing. We spent many joyous hours playing Susie Homemaker with her Easy-Bake Oven.
#2
Another Christmas, Anita got one of these or at least similar to it. Again, she allowed me the privilege of playing with her new toy. Yippee-ki-yay or hi-ho, Silver away! Anyhow, years later when we had our son we bought him one. We named his spring rocking pony, Bucky. Our little boy was wild about it!
#3
The Hula Hoop hit the scene in the late 50s, but it remained popular through the 60s and has kept its place in our culture through the years. In recent years, I’ve gotten a semi-urge to buy one for myself simply because it would be wonderful exercise but the thing which stops me is I’d have to go outdoors to use the hoop. I don’t believe I’d do this except in the warmer months. As an adult, I don’t like the idea of getting too hot or fighting the pest to play with the hula hoop in the elements. 🙁 Need not worry, though. Anita had one which she shared with me. What a pal!
#4
I really thought this was fascinating, as the box says, to see God’s little creatures busying themselves making tunnels. Don’t fret, Anita had one. 🙂 That’s how I came to be fascinated with it. The closest I came to anything like this was after parenthood. I bought our children a butterfly garden for our homeschool. It was totally cool, too. I thought briefly about getting an ant farm, but it didn’t make sense to buy one since we get these little guys occasionally in our house during the warm months.
#5
This one, I’m baffled on. I remember kind of wanting this doll, but I don’t recall if anyone I knew got one. Perhaps, I saw commercials announcing this dolls interesting features and since the doll has my name then I was automatically drawn to her. It would have been super neat-o to have had one, though. Years later, I got my version of Chatty Cathy doll when I had three living baby dolls of my own. Funny thing is, I could never figure out how to remove the batteries.
#6
Anita had a green Honda mini bike which was sort of like this one. That’s been a lot of years ago, though. It was such a fun thing to ride. I had the privilege of riding it a time or two, and one time I went solo only to wreck. I don’t think I hurt the mini bike, but it sure did scare me. Part of me wanted one of these babies for years. It would still be fun to have an off-road bike now since I’m well past the mini bike stage. 🙂
#7
Playing Barbie Dolls was one of my beloved things to do with Anita. It’s amazing how much time we spent dressing up and undressing our dolls for their dates with Ken or GI Joe. It seems this camper was a hot toy in the early 70s when the Malibu Barbie came out and I was kind of wanting one. I think Anita got one. Like always, I was able to enjoy her toys. This satisfied my desire to have one of my own. God’s little miracle to me.
#8
Try as I might, I was unable to find an exact photo on the net of a true vintage cotton candy maker, which may have been in an old Sears Roebuck & Co catalog. Do you remember the Wish Books? Every year, we would get them and we never lost interest with going through page after page in that heavy, large catalog. I don’t even think today’s Internet browsing can compete with those magical days of yesteryear spent wishing for this or that. One such item every kid wanted was a cotton candy machine. None of us were fortunate enough to claim such a present for Christmas or any other special occasion.
#9
Roller skating was one of our favorite pastimes, but one we couldn’t do often. We managed to talk our folks into forking over the dough and the time to take us to a nearby skating rink on occasion. I loved roller skating. I never could do any of the fancy movies but could skate pretty fast. I hurt pretty bad, though when I crashed. I got plenty of my share of bruises and blisters back in those days. What memories! I may need to re-think this one. I can’t afford any broken bones at my age now.
#10
The granddaddy of all gifts was an above ground pool similar to this one. Today, I fantasize about having a large in ground heated pool with flood lights for nighttime dipping. Maybe one day when money is no object…if only I can find that mystical tree which grows greenback, then I can have my heart’s desire. Where was I? Oh, yes when money is no object then I can have a pool. I’m pretty sure even Santa would have great difficulty bringing this one on his sleigh.
It’s interesting, Santa or no one else gave me these things and surprisingly I didn’t turn out to be too bad as an adult. I don’t hate the world or my parents, blame my current state of affairs on a poor environmental upbringing, or despise my best friend for getting all the nice toys.
Instead, I offer up thanksgiving for parents who loving cared the best they could for me and my siblings. My heart is full of gratitude for the sweetest friend ay girl could ask for. Anita was truly my angel! The kids I grew up with were in the same situation. That way of life was normal. We didn’t know any different. Instead of disappointment, we joyful received our gifts with big happy smiles and we never stopped daydreaming. I was so blessed.
Perhaps, this will sound cliché or corny to some but it truly doesn’t make any difference what I get for Christmas. It’s the thought that counts. Better still, I prefer giving gifts than receiving them. There really is something special about putting someone else before yourself this time of the year, like the lowly shepherds and peasants did in Bethlehem one starry night long ago or even the Magi who traveled hundreds of miles bearing gifts for the new-born King.
Each Christmas, I think about my gift to the new-born King. Yes, I know He isn’t a baby anymore, and He lives in heaven. However, I can still offer my gift to Jesus. Every year it’s the same, I give myself to Christ. I want to be in His service doing whatever He would have me to do. This is my gift.
What things did you want as a kid and didn’t get, but still want?
Today’s random musings was inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop weekly prompts. If you like to post about anything then join Stacy Uncorked for Random Tuesday Thoughts. Thanks Stacy for keeping the randomness alive while Keely at UnMom is taking a break!
I know you’re busy. Tomorrow morning, I will announce the winner in last week’s BOTB Christmas edition. Stop by if you can to see if your favorite cover artist came out on top!
Christmas warm wishes,
To learn the symbolism of the Three Wise men’s gifts, read Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh