I should have written this post weeks ago, but as stated before, I don't always complete the tasks I set for myself. Perhaps that's why I writing this while sitting with a plate of cookies instead of working out.
In any event, the holiday season is upon us. This means, of course, that everyone on the planet is struggling to empty their pockets to provide wonderful gifts for my children.
I heard an amazing report on NPR about a grandfather who decided that his grandchildren had enough toys and games and what he really should get them should be something else. He decided on livestock. Through Heifer International, he donated livestock in the names of his grandchildren to needy people in third-world countries. I think this is a wonderful idea.
Another story was about how rather than objects, a man gave his grandchildren experiences. He took them on a helicopter ride, booked a hotel that faced fireworks on the 4th of July and took them to all of the places in the local city that they had never seen. His thought was that after he was dead and gone, the toys and games would be too, but the experiences could never be removed.
My students have been asking me what I'm getting for my kids and when I tell them "nothing" they sneer at me and call me a bad parent. On truth, Sara and I did get Harper a gift, but it's nothing huge. My thought is that at 2-years and 10-months, the girls don't have any concept of the season or what it means to get gifts. Also, we buy them things often enough that this isn't really any different.
When family asks what they should get the girls, I've been trying to keep in mind the phrase "They need to go to college some day."
They have quite a large number of toys and clothes.
What would be really useful ...
What the girls would REALLY love...
Would be a European tour package for their parents.
