The other day, I was thinking about making eye pillows or neck warmers as gifts. These are simple crafts where you sew a small bag, fill it with rice, and seal it. I thought I could just pick up one of those huge bags of rice from Costco and it'd be a relatively inexpensive gift. And then I started thinking about the prosperity of America, that we can buy rice to make little crafts. We can buy beans for our kids to play in or make tambourines with paper plates.
Is this a new chapter in maturity? Is this a place that all people (esp parents) eventually reach so that they can nag their kids to finish their dinner?
I want to return to simplicity (was I ever there?). I read an article once that suggested that you follow the example of the gifts Jesus received from the Wise Men (this isn't the article, but it's the same concept)(oh wait, I found it).
I'm amazed at the sense of privilege my kids have. They think they don't have to work hard for anything and that when they're bored, it's my job to entertain them or that we should drive to the toy store and buy a new toy (please don't think I give into these demands. I don't). Brian and I try very hard to encourage independence, responsibility, respect and other wonderful character traits that we catch glimpses of from time to time in our boys. I'm just so surprised by how much of a battle it is! Charlie asked if a magazine came in the paper that he could use to make his Christmas list like he did last year. That really brought it all home to me. I suggested that he make a list of gifts that he would like instead of flipping through a catalog that would plant ideas in his head.
Creativity is a lot harder to foster than I thought.
So, here's a picture of my son Isaac doing what boys should do with presents:
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