Speaking of the holidays and those gifts that are neatly wrapped under the tree, I begin thinking of the gifts I received as a child. The ones that really brought the pure joy of Christmas out in me! There was the year that I received my very first Colts jersey. No, not the Indianapolis Colts but the Baltimore Colts. Yes, it's true I was a colts fan before they came to Indy and I was absolutely in love with Bert Jones in 1973. Do the math, I was 7 years old in 1973! Today, I still love my Colts, though it has been a tough season! Then there was the year of the "moving box". I think I was about 10 or so and Christmas morning I woke to find a box under the tree with suspicious holes in it and when I touched it...it moved! I remember squealing with delight when I opened it to find "Bess"! My very own New Zealand red rabbit! Bess was my pride and joy and was the beginning of my long love affair with bunnies! There were Christmas's with clothes, and ones with handmade sweaters. Those are the ones I remember and cherish the most. Funny, there were no video games, though they really weren't out then! Atari came on the scene in the late 70's and I had I asked for one there most likely would have been one under the tree but I never asked. We learned to play with things outside. Like the blue bicycle that I got one Christmas and I remember vividly my Dad riding it out of the Sears store! Yes, we played outside and played with things that we made into toys! Some of the best toys, weren't toys at all! Kinda like when my girls were little, you could give them the best toy ever and they would play with the box! That sort of thing is what we did too. Jump ropes were used for more than jumping. Jump ropes could be used to tie up the "bad guy" in a game of "Cops and Robbers", they were also great as a tow rope between that blue bicycle from Sears and a plastic baby buggy full of stuffed animals and dolls. There was always a ball around. Footballs, baseballs, basketballs, sometimes they got used for the appropriate sport but often they were used for dodge balls, soccer balls or even as something to just stand and bounce forever! I had a green skateboard that I rode EVERYWHERE! I even had to visit the roller rink in Rensselaer to buy the little wheel barrings to go in the wheels because I would wear them out. That skateboard was used as my primary mode of transportation even more than the bicycle! But it was also used as a pillow to lay my head on while I laid on the ground and starred at the stars. My odd usage of things continued on even as I was older. I had to explain to my mother why I had to buy 3 new laundry baskets my freshmen year of college. I certainly didn't wear them out doing laundry but I did tear them up sledding down the hills of East Tennessee. Laundry baskets and trays from the cafeteria were the "sleds" of choice!
I guess where this is all heading is I am thankful for the memories I have. Someone recently pointed out to me that I had a great childhood. They even admitted that they wished they had been a part of such a wonderful family. At the time, it all seemed so normal, so natural and so very boring to me. But now, looking back, I see that it was truly great and that I was blessed with the best family ever! So now, work hard at making those family traditions of your own with your kids and grandkids. Someday they will write a blog and remember what a great childhood they had too!
