“Just as a puppy can be more of a challenge than a gift, so too can the holidays.” – John Clayton
THE HOLIDAYS are upon us and at no time are we more aware of “have” and “have not” than at this time of year. Two Christmases ago, Mr.
Clark was out of work and we were out of money. There were no gifts under the tree (that our grown daughter bought us, out of love, fond memories and pity) and try as we all did, the comfort to be found in a non-material celebration eluded us, as we sat at the meal our grown son prepared, pretending not to hear the wolves howling outside our door.
Last year, Mr. Clark had work again – a good job that afforded us the luxury of not only having a modest Christmas ourselves, but also helping a couple of recently unemployed friends make sure Santa came to their houses and left a few treats for their kids.
This year we are bountifully blessed and so, in addition to being a little more generous with each other and our kids, we are able to help friends and family still struggling in the grips of this vile recession and we have “adopted” a Holiday Connection family.
Barrow County Holiday Connection is a cooperative effort between the local schools, DFACS, churches and service organizations that, for the past 12 years, has made the holidays a little more merry and bright for kids whose families are having a hard time. This year there are 450 families who have been screened and identified as truly in need of help and, due to the continued economic strain on most folks, donations are down from past years.
“Our” family is a grandmother raising two grandchildren by herself. The girl is seven, the boy is five and their wish list is simple. He likes Batman, Spiderman, Superman, cars and trucks; she likes ZuZu pets, “hair things,” and makeup. They both need pants, shirts and “maybe a warm coat,” as the family recently moved from Florida where “it never gets this cold.”
I admit, I was a little apprehensive about “adopting” a family with kids this age – after all, those are the peak “please, Santa, make my Christmas dream come true” years and I wasn’t sure an X-Box, Wii or other expensive requests would be within our reach this year. And, then I got their list - oh, my! How un-humble and materialistic do I need to be? There are kids out there still just hoping for coats… Mr. Clark and I went out on Black Friday to take advantage of certain sales and shop for “our” family locally. I like venturing out on that over-hyped day because it puts me in the mood for the holidays – not so much in the buying that I do as in the spirit of giving I see. This year I saw an elderly man leaving a store with a big smile on his face, the only item in his shopping bag a huge Lego set that I’m sure he got a great Black Friday deal on…I like imagining how happy his grandchildren will be when Grandpa surprises them with the Lego set of their dreams.
I like listening to families debating certain gifts for certain folks and, maybe due to the big excitement Black Friday brings, doing it in a nice way, a happy way, a way that says Christmas is going to be a good one for them this year. I like the lines, the big sale signs and the notion that this many people are having fun spending money on someone else on this particular day....I am also saddened by the thought of all the people who are not in these stores and will not get any gifts this Christmas because, for whatever reasons, their lives have strayed so far from anything even remotely magical that they are alone not only during the holidays, but every day of the year.
Mr. Clark hates shopping. He would rather do almost anything than shop – especially on a zoo day like Black Friday. I was pleased that he wanted to come with me, even if the only reason was to “make sure you don’t go crazy” while hunting down those holiday deals.
And maybe, not surprisingly, we had the best time we’ve had in a long time – shopping for two kids we’ll probably never meet. He found deals I didn’t spot and I suggested additions to “our” family’s list that he agreed with. We scoured the sale bins, debated colors, sizes and relative toy fun values. We ended up going to several stores to get what we wanted, but when we were done, we had the list accomplished affordably - plus a little bit more. I can hardly wait to wrap and then, just before Christmas, deliver those gifts.
If there’s anything our past few Christmases have taught us, it’s that giving is, indeed, WAY more fun than receiving.
(The Holiday Connection Coordinator is Michelle Walker, 770-868-4258; it’s not too late to adopt a family, donate toys, send money, or volunteer.) Lorin Sinn-Clark is a reporter for the Barrow Journal. She can be reached at lorin@barrowjournal.com.
