When Christmas is all about getting.

Christmas. To a child, it's all about getting. But, for the most part, it's not at all that way for adults. Why is that?

I was sitting in church this morning, listening as the speaker brought the children to the front and asked them about Christmas. Guess what they were excited about? All the STUFF they were going to GET. So I'm thinking about my desires for Christmas day, and none of it has anything to do with my getting anything. Is it because I'm not going to like the presents I'll get? Certainly not! In fact, if all goes well, I'll get that new iPod I've been wanting, and even better... there'll be CHOCOLATE in my stocking. My kids have pretty much figured out that there's really nothing more important for me to find in that gift bag than a big, lucious selection of chocolate. So, no, it's not that I don't want anything, but I really don't get all worked up about the prospect of getting stuff on Christmas.

So what's up with the kids' excitement about getting stuff, and why don't I still have that feeling? Here's my opinion.

As a child/student/young person, one has essentially no resources, so at Christmastime it's possible to receive things that one has no other way to obtain. Once we become responsible adults, we no longer have this limitation — so the getting is not so important. (OK, there are still a few things I have no chance of getting for myself: if I were to be given a brand new Dodge Viper, or maybe a Lamborghini, I'd be really excited.) So when does this transition occur? It may come slowly. For me, it changed as I became a "productive citizen". But hey — would you believe that I was in my late 20's before this happened? Even in college and graduate school I was excited about getting stuff at Christmas. In fact, my favorite gift of all time came when I was about 20 years old: My parents gave me a big Craftsman toolbox full of wrenches, sockets, drivers, and accessories that I still use to this day. Here 30 years later, just holding one of the wrenches in my hand continues to connect me to my father.

I recall with sadness being told as a child (mostly by school and bible class teachers) that I should want to give and not receive — and I felt guilty because I didn't feel that way! Now I realize that my desire to receive was OK! The "getting" is great, and it was very exciting — I mean, really, how cool is that? Every child learns through that experience how joyful and invigorating it is to receive something you could not possibly get for yourself. Does this sound familiar? There is still something that I desire greatly that I cannot possibly ever get for myself, no matter how hard I work or how much money I have or how many good deeds I do or how many people I schmooze with. And that brings us right back to Christmas, and the real reason that Christmas is all about getting.

funny quotes

• Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck. -George Carlin
• My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance. -Tim Allen
• There are days when it takes all you've got just to keep up with the losers. -Robert Orben
• Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded. -Yogi Berra
• Money can't buy you happiness, but it can buy you a yacht big enough to pull up right alongside it. - David Lee Roth
• We'll love you just the way you are if you're perfect. -Alanis Morissette

quotes i like

• The most effective way to do it, is to do it. -Amelia Earhart
• Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race. -H.G. Wells
• I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else. -C. S. Lewis
• Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future. -Niels Bohr
• Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. -Arthur C. Clarke
• How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is quite clearly Ocean. -Arthur C. Clarke
• A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. -Albert Einstein
• All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. -Albert Einstein
• A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be. -Albert Einstein
• Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either. -Albert Einstein
• Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler. -Albert Einstein
• A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have. -Gerald R. Ford
• If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work. -Thomas J. Watson
• All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt. -Charles M. Schulz
• It's not denial. I'm just selective about the reality I accept. -Bill Watterson
• Spring is God's way of saying, 'One more time!' -Robert Orben
• It seems like once people grow up, they have no idea what's cool. -Bill Watterson
• When birds burp, it must taste like bugs. -Bill Watterson
• Every noble work is at first impossible. -Thomas Carlyle
• The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions. -Oliver Wendell Holmes
• If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over? -John Wooden
• There are many things that are essential to arriving at true peace of mind, and one of the most important is faith, which cannot be acquired without prayer. -John Wooden
• Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights. -John Wooden
• As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand. -Josh Billings
• When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece. -John Ruskin