Christmas Giving....

We have all heard "It is better to give than to receive"

Christmas Eve morning, 7 of us.....Me, Debbie, Rick and Ginny, Ken, Charlie and Oscar experienced this first hand.

Once again many of the Esterillos residents dug deep into their pockets - this has been a hard year for most everyone - and gave what they could just to put a smile on a child's face.

Two nights prior, Debbie had a gift wrapping party at her house.  Over 100 gifts were wrapped, 7 food baskets prepared.  This was my 3rd year to participate - the most gifts I have ever seen.

By 8 am Christmas Eve morning, we were on our way.  Oscar is a local who knows all the families.  Some who had never done this before were concerned as to how we would find all the children.  I told them, don't worry, word spreads and they just come.  Sure enough, they came.  Across the highway, as we were getting ready to leave, here came a group running down the highway to catch us.

The look on each and every child was priceless but so was the smile on the parents' face.  Such a simple thing for those of us who gave, a huge difference for those who received.

Interestingly, before the gift wrapping I was given some disturbing criticism for being the one who pulled this year's event together.

I was told..."Christmas is about the birth of Jesus, not about the gift of toys to children who do not expect more than tamales and hugs and kisses, these kids are cherished every day. Please do not try to import your idea of christmas into a culture that you clearly don't understand. "

This short declaration of one person's opinion put me in a tail spin.  It made me not want to participate, but..... I was the only one who had done this before, had the contacts and knew where to go.

In short......this experience reminded me that one only needs to listen to one's heart.  No way can we make everyone happy, but if we are doing our best, with good intentions, giving instead of taking.......how can one go wrong, being kind to a child.

For 3 full hours, all 7 of us received more than we gave.  At the end, our hearts were full, grateful for this opportunity and reminder that this is what Christmas should be about.....love one another.