Presents or Presence

There is something magical about seeing a Christmas tree with presents piled under it. The mystery of what the colorfully wrapped boxes contain that bubbles and fills your thoughts. The trembling expectation when you glance at the neatly lined up stockings. As a child, that anticipation was nearly unbearable.

When I was young, I spent Thanksgiving morning with the catalogs—Target, Sears, Fleet Farm, and more— spread across the living room floor. My sister and I would each get our own color of marker to circle what we wanted for Christmas. I circled a lot. There was that innate desire to have the most toys, the best toys.

This past weekend, I spent an hour reading multiple articles on gift suggestions for writers. I came up with 2 ideas. I’ve become either more discerning or more picky, but definitely more difficult to buy for as I’ve gotten older.

Instead of things, now I want experiences and memories. I want to spend time with my friends and family: to go on trips, to see theatre performances, to enjoy an evening out at the park watching the sunset. Toys will break, metal will tarnish, cloth will tear, electronics will become obsolete. But the memories and connections I form through shared experience will remain.

I prefer my friends and family’s presence to their presents.