Teacher Christmas Gifts

Well, it's the time of year when families express their gratitude for those who care for their children all day long with bath sets and ornaments. :) Today, I lugged a bag of gifts home from school, and there will most likely be another bag full tomorrow. But as I packed my gifts in order to go home, I had a thought. I love getting these gifts. Not because I get a bunch of stuff (typically nice stuff too), but because it reminds me of my childhood.

Every year, on the last day of school, my Dad would bring home mountains of gifts from his students. I remember helping Dad unwrap the piles of gifts, and it ended up being a pre-Christmas for me. You see, even though I happen to get nice gifts from my families, Dad worked in a district where money was usually tight. As I look back, he got more ugly Christmas mugs than I can possibly count! So he gave them to me. When I was really little, I thought that was just too cool! But as I got older and came to understand the situation in which his students lived, this gifts evoked deeper feelings within me. Suddenly, the fact that these families would spend a couple dollars to buy that ugly mug (while struggling to make ends meet) began to show me just how much my Dad was appreciated. I always felt a little sad to think that these children might not have the type of Christmas I was used to. But I was thankful to those families who made an effort to let my Dad know they cared. That doesn't always happen.

So as I lug my bag of gifts home this year, I will really be thinking of those families. And appreciating my families who are trying to say the same thing with lotion as Dad's families do with mugs.