Give the Gift of Generosity

Last year, my son got a waffle iron for Christmas. No technology, nothing computerized. Just a waffle iron.
Suffice it to say, somebody had a bad attitude for awhile before Christmas. Okay, maybe it was somebody and both his parents.
For his birthday party last year which happens a few weeks before Christmas, I went to Walmart and bought ten blankets, one for each of his years. Then, we, just he and I, delivered them to PATH in honor of his birthday.
By the way, he said I could publish this story as long as I mentioned that the idea for a PATH birthday party is “the dumbest thing on earth.”
PATH, People Attempting To Help, in Tyler, is a non-profit group that provides food and other services to folks who need help.
I took my son to PATH with a perfectly sweet attitude; I figure with a thirty-eight year head start on the boy, I can afford to be sweet even when I am fed up.
“I’ll take the blame now because it will be credit later,” my husband likes to say. There’s a philosophy for parents, if I ever heard one!
The PATH trip did wonders for his attitude. Not to mention his mom’s.
I’ve been poling my friends with the question, “How do you teach your kiddoes to be generous, rather than spoiled?” Here are some of their answers.
-It’s about mentoring. They have to see that you enjoy giving.
-Teach your kids to be thankful and they will feel that they have plenty to share.
-Point out the long term benefits in the lives of those around them when we share or make sacrifices for each other.
-Teach them to want what is best for their siblings and they will work to help each other.
-Plan a secret gift. Let them enjoy the thrill of dropping it off and making a quick get away.
-Let them experience wanting, or better yet needing, something for awhile, so they can appreciate how much it means to receive something you really need.
There’s a difference between giving and sacrificing.
Giving is sharing out of the abundance of what we have. Sacrificing is giving away something that we really need for ourselves.
In our homes, we make sacrifices every day. We make a decision to love patiently as little ones grow up slowly and it costs us in endurance. We make the tough decisions because it is best for a teenager and then we weather the repercussions. We love in the face of family baggage that can include rejection, dysfunction, controlling, you name it.
This year, my son and I get to buy eleven blankets. I’m thankful for that.
And I’m thankful for the maturity I see forming in his heart.
The best part about his Christmas gift last year is that it turns out he makes terrific waffles and he loves surprising us with breakfast.
May you and I give the best gifts this year.

Cathy Krafve, aka Checklist Charlie, lives with her family in East Texas. Comments are invited at CAEKrafve2@aol.com.