Magical

As Christmas day comes to a close I have thought about all Christmas means to us and the magic that is in the air.  The Christmas season is a time of imagination, growth, fairy tales, adventures, and maybe a little magic just for good measure.  This year I was able watch all the excitement grow within you and really admire the little boy that you are.

Christmas in my house was always surrounded by family traditions and ideas of what the holiday should be.  As you and I have grown over the years we have adopted some of these traditions and also created some of our own.  The one special tradition that really stood out to me this year and realize how much it meant to my mom was the "eye sparkler" under the Christmas tree.  Every year, in addition to our Santa gift, there was one present under the tree that your grandmother called the "eye sparkler."  She described it as the gift that would make our eyes just light up and the one gift, that I now understand, she put the most thought into getting for us. It was usually something we had been wanting for awhile or what we thought was  necessity in life.  Now, something you have to remember about Uncle Mike and I is that we do not get outwardly overally excited over much.  It is just not our personalities to jump up and down with a smile on our face and our "eyes sparkling."  But, as we got older we realized how much this meant to our mom and we did not want to disappoint.  I remember for a few years he and I would open all of our gifts and blink our eyes really hard while trying to smile and ask if it was our "eye sparkler"  There was one year though I had no doubt over my eye sparkler - my mom had gotten me the NBA starter jacket for the Charlotte Hornets - I know, random, but it is all I had talked about.  There was no doubt my eyes sparkled when opening that gift.

I wanted to continue this tradition.  I wanted to make sure there was the one present under the tree that would "wow" you and would be your first "eye sparkler."  I thought for days on end on what it might be and what gift you just wouldn't want to put down.  Then, I found it!  It would be the Nook HD.  I rationalized that you could use it for your homeschool program, it would foster your reading, and it would be an electronic toy that you are so drawn to these days (as is any 8 year old).  I took time to program it with books, wrap it nicely, and place it in the back under the tree so it would be last gift you opened.  What I learned this morning though was all of your gifts were your "eye sparklers."

I was reminded today that you take nothing for in granted for life. That you are so grateful for all that you have and all that you receive.  Every gift you opened this morning was greeted with "ohhhs" and "ahhhs."  You would talk about the present with "what do you see?", "I wanna .....", "oh whoa...", and much more. You opened each gift slowly and made sure all the paper was removed.  You actually looked at the gift for what it was, gave a sweet "thank you", and then pointed to the next one to open.  You face was lit up bright and happy.  You truly sensed the magic of Christmas and enjoyed yourself in the moment.  And that great electronic gift that I didn't think you would wan to put down.... well.... yes, you liked it but honestly you were just as happy today to be a playful 8 year old and let your imagination run wild as you played with your wooden train set, the star wars action figures, and your new spiderman.  The stuffed Mickey Mouse you got went everywhere with you, including the movies tonight.  

So yes, I was able to carry on the family tradition of the "eye sparkler" gift but you brought so much more meaning to it today.  Your innocence, gratitude, and unique and special outlook on life brought back the magic of Christmas for me today and reminded me of what the holiday season is about.  Today also reminded me of what a special little boy you are and that I have no worries of who you will be in the future.  

Keep on Truckin Baby
Love
Mom