I prefer to give gifts rather than receive them. Is anybody else out there who can relate?
Christmas Eve has always been my favorite holiday. Large groups in my family came together for one night of celebration with different types of music playing in the background as the children ran around the tiny apartments or houses we would rotate in each year and the adults would discuss current events or their children’s most recent achievements. There was always laughter and incredible Spanish food before the stroke of midnight when we would gather around the tree and share our gifts.
This is when I’d feel disappointed as 9-year-old Jamie opened up a wrapped package of clothes that were honestly unappealing but rejecting the gifts was a huge “no-no” in this family.
Giving gifts became my favorite part of growing up. Working opened up the doors to be able to gift people with things I knew they enjoyed or might enjoy due to past clues or conversations.
All my life I was taught to work as hard as I possibly could. My dad has always held a steady job and even when he couldn’t, he found a way to make it happen.
It may have taken me a little too long but discipline and hard work run very strongly in my family. We don’t receive handouts unless they’re hand-me-down clothes (if you know, you know).
