The Little Things
By Jason Marshall
I have long considered myself an overthinker.
Don’t ask me why. Seriously. Don’t. You’ll send me spiralling me into an afternoon of analysis paralysis.
With overthinkers, there are no easy answers for seemingly simple questions.
Is it an age thing? Good question. Let me analyze it. Process it. Be ready to give you an answer. Then second-guess it. And head back to the drawing board.
Then there are days like today when my brain shifts into gear the moment I’m asked a straightforward question, and the answer is there. Brain to mouth. Out into the universe.
So, when I was asked “What is the best Christmas gift you ever received?” I just opened my mouth and this is what popped out.
Like most kids, I unwrapped more Christmas gifts than I can count, but I truly only remember a handful of them. It would be easy to say I loved my Stretch Armstrong doll or my Guy Lafleur #10 Canadiens sweater more than anything. At the time I did. But what was actually under the shiny paper always paled in comparison to the anticipation and excitement beforehand.
The countdown began when the Sears Christmas Wish Book first made its appearance. Then Charlie Brown and Cindy Lou Who were on my TV screen. Fa la las blasted from the stereo. Our house was suddenly covered in twinkling lights. Fridge magnets held up masterpieces of Crayola reindeer. The letter to Santa was becoming encyclopedia-thick. I was now in charge of watering the Christmas tree every day. And veiled threats were thrown around about Santa only visiting good boys and the very real possibility of finding onions in my stocking. I feared raw onions more than coal. And still do.
Our house smelled of gingerbread and sugar cookies, freshly baked for Santa. We were leaving out milk and cookies for the big man. That didn’t warrant any discussion. But deep conversations were held at bedtime about whether Rudolph preferred carrots or apples.
Gentle reminders were uttered every day about not snooping for gifts. I could get up close to see the tags of the ones already wrapped under the tree. But shaking them was a big no-no.
Speaking of tree, we always decorated it as a family. Old ornaments were handled with special care. New ones joining the collection each year. I vividly remember stringing popcorn on thread with a needle, and proudly wearing mom’s thimble to keep from pricking my little fingers.
It was then the seed was planted. It isn’t about what’s under the tree, but what happens around it. And who it happens with.
I also had the job of picking up the mail every day and was the official opener of any Christmas cards. Quadruple the excitement if my name was written on the envelope. The cards were then hung on a string in our living room, now part of the decorations. They would later be tucked away into a box and sent to the basement, only to make an encore appearance every December after that. Each year I’d ask who they were from and was always told a story about each person. I kept some of those cards as an eternal reminder of the senders. And the storyteller.
Christmas has always been a magical time for me. And that would make my parents magicians.
So therein lies the answer to the question about the best gift I ever received.
That gift was what my parents instilled in me. How they showed me the importance of being a caretaker of Christmas magic and a sculptor of childhood memories. For myself. And children everywhere. Especially my own kids.
The Christmas season isn’t about fancy wrapping paper and expensive gifts. It’s about wrapping your arms around your family and loved ones. And wrapping the season in moments that will live in their heart and minds.
Christmas magic is silent but resonates louder with each passing year. You feel it in your soul. And you believe in it with all your being. For an entire lifetime. A creation of all the little things—they make all the difference.
Jason Marshall has been a writer and journalist for more than 35 years, and is an on-air host and station manager at Valley Heritage Radio just outside of Renfrew, Ontario. And he’s truly a big kid at heart. You can email him anytime at jason@valleyheritageradio.ca
