Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Seventh Grade Christmas

My friends and I decided since we were much older this year of seventh grade, we would exchange Christmas gifts. Yet, none of us worked, so had little income. We agreed on homemade gifts.
I tried. I'm just not crafty or very talented. My mother, too, could never sew like a seamstress. Her attempts at clothes made the older children feel like refugees. She also didn't know the beginning of knitting or crocheting. In fact, my dad taught me how to make the chain for crocheting. He, as a kid, made chains out of leather, so he knew how to start that.
So the gifts made from the heart, broke mine. I made a jeans purse with thick red embroidery thread for one friend. It looked sloppy and terrible, I could tell by her expression. Another friend, I wrote her a poem. In fact, I wrote several poems that year to give. But I don't write poetry well. The friend showed her disappointment.
Yet, these girls remained my friends through high school. We saved and never made homemade gifts again for each other. I have found my best homemade gifts are cookies or cake because so many people don't have time to bake. Food doesn't have to go with decor or one's style. Yet, it is something made from the heart.
And the best gifts are those from the heart. I thank God for my friends that didn't hold material pleasures over our friendship. I thank God for family that accepts my poor offerings at times. I hold them all dear to my heart.

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