If We Were Having Coffee

I haven’t done an, “If we were having coffee. . . in a while and as I was perusing the blogs I follow I came across one and decided to do my own. Thanks Trent for the reminder. The first time I heard of it was over at Just Gene’O and he hosts a weekly “If we were having coffee. . .” Enjoy and join in the conversation.

If we were having coffee, I’d say. . .

When it came down to opening presents my parents used to always say, “it’s better to give than receive.” Poppycock, I’d mumble under my breath and roll my eyes up in my head. Now that I’m older, I still like to receive better than give, but giving is catching up. I like to see the look on people’s faces. And I think this year someone is going to get the surprise Chia Pet.

I’ve been threatening this gift for a while now and the stinker in me has finally bought one and wrapped it up. Now who shall be the unsuspecting victim of the Chia Pet.

Then, I’d ask you what was the best gag gift you ever gave? It could be birthday, mother’s day, father’s day, etc. It doesn’t just have to be Christmas.

Example: My dad loves a Stetson hat. Loves. Loves. Loves.

So for his birthday that’s what we (my mom, sister, and I ) gave him. Kind of . . .

My sister comes up with this brilliant idea after she sees a cowboy hat – chin strap included at the party store and decides that would be a good gag gift. She tells my mom and I about it and we of course jump on that band wagon. My sister in all her brilliance takes the actual birthday present hat out of the box and replaces it with the party store hat, wraps it up and we present the party store hat as his birthday hat. He looks like WTF. With a little bit of coaching from my brother-in-law and I, he puts it on. My sister adjusts the hat and tightens the chin strap and asks, “how does it fit?”

We did give him his real hat after we stopped laughing.

If we were having coffee, I’d say . . .

Up until a couple of days ago, I was in a

kind of mood.

On Sunday, I went to church and we had our Christmas play, and I snapped out of my Bah Humbug mood and back to my Christian reality that . . .

Every year it seems the older I get, the grumpier I get when it comes to Christmas. I know why. It’s the commercialization of it. The media bullying to go out and spend exorbitant amounts of money on Christmas gifts.

As I’ve gotten older and the Christian in me has come to realize that the giving and receiving of gifts is not the most important part of Christmas. It’s the birth of Jesus Christ and spending it with loved ones. If you’re not it should be spending with loved ones.

For me Christmas is about the above, but it’s also about donating to Toys for Tots, spending time at a children’s hospital or nursing home, serving food to the homeless.

I was told the other day that doing those things was pretty sanctimonious. It’s not. It’s what I enjoy doing and some of those things I don’t do just at Christmas. By doing them I’ve learned a lot about people, the human experience, and the resiliency of the human spirit.

Then I’d ask. What does Christmas mean to you? But if you don’t celebrate Christmas I’d ask you to tell me about the Holiday you celebrate.

After we’ve laughed over our best gag gifts and had a heart-to-heart about what Christmas means to us. I’d say, “Thanks for having coffee or tea or whatever your beverage choice with me and we must do this again soon.” Then I’d tell you, “Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays and have a wonder New Year.” Then I’d go out of my comfort zone and give you a great big bear hug. Because everyone needs one every now and again.