Merry Christmas from our house to yours

It has been a while since I have written here and after reading some stories this morning about how poor people in America are coping with Christmas this year it prompted me to write about my own Christmas. For those of you who may not know, my son and I live on government assistance since his disability prevents him from being in daycare. We fall way below the poverty line, yet we have a very nice life. I do realize that we have a wonderful family who supports us and that many people are not as fortunate as I am. As with everything I write, I am only speaking for myself and make no presumptions that my situation is like any other persons nor will I assume that other people should do what I do. I just share because I believe that regardless of life circumstances there is a common thread that binds us together. 

This Christmas has really been unlike any other for me, as I am finding happens more often the older I get. My mother and her boyfriend have the flu and we were unable to spend Christmas eve or day with them as we normally do. So my sister, her husband, my son and I had dinner at my grandfathers and went to our respective homes last night. We had a wonderful dinner and had a great time. With my son wound up neither of us have slept so I sent him to 'bed', laid out his gifts (no stocking this year) and had him get back up! Make do with what you have has become my new motto and this morning was no different. 

As I laid out his gifts I first noticed how few were there. At my mothers house this is masked by gifts from her and my sister. I did not feel bad for not having that much, it just struck me as odd. Each item I purchased I knew would be appreciated by my son. The first gift he went to was a small cookie sheet filled with magnets that I found in a bag at goodwill. My son has a thing for magnets and I knew he would love them. Then after sorting the magnets and looking through them all he went for the Pez dispenser. I helped him open it and held open the dispenser and he put each candy in individually then watched as he ate them one by one. With all 3 packs of candy. Then there was the softball, baseball and snare drum I picked up at a thrift store. No big ticket items. No batteries required. But he is enjoying a quiet morning and I know he appreciates what he got. 

I was a lucky child and knew two of my great grandmothers before they passed. These women were born at the beginning of last century when just about everyone was poor. One of my great grandmothers didn't go to school past the 6th grade because girls didn't need at education at that time and another was raised by her grandmother after her mother passed away, graduated high school but wasn't able to go to nursing school like she wanted because her grandmother needed her to work to help support the household. Both of these women had different lives, but experienced poverty on a level I will hopefully never understand. They both had long full lives and raised children and families that stuck together through thick and thin. When times get hard I often think about these women and the stories they told me and I often wonder if poverty holds gifts. Over the last few years I have learned to appreciate what I have. I see the abundance more then I feel the sting of lack. Now I know that poverty increases stress, and I feel that often as well. But I cant help but feel grateful for what I have this morning, and recognize that what I am missing most of all this Christmas is my family. My gift this morning is the realization that my life is full. 

While I am enjoying some coffee, my son is sitting at his desk enjoying some hot cocoa and singing while playing with his magnets and kinect pieces in a way that only makes sense to him. I am missing my family, but I am thankful for a little boy who enjoys simple things like magnets on a cookie sheet.