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Tis the Season to be Grateful
Elvia Valdez, LifeGift Public Relations Coordinator
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it’s so easy to get lost in all the commercialization of the real meaning of the season.
Today, I was both honored and humbled to drop off our donation of toys, food and toiletries to the local Ronald McDonald House within the Texas Medical Center. LifeGift had spent the last month collecting these items for the holiday season.
I was greeted by the woman at the front desk and given a tour of the toy room, where our toys would be separated into several age groups and where the children would be allowed to pick their favorite ones. I was overwhelmed by the amount of toys in the room. When I saw the different age groups that the toys were divided into, I could not help to feel a bit emotional. I quickly noticed many of the same toys I personally had bought for my own 14-month-old son.
While I was waiting in the lobby for our toys to be unloaded, I couldn’t help but keep my eyes on two beautiful, little boys with the brightest sandy white hair you’d ever seen running and playing – acting like they didn’t have a care in the world.
I left wondering which of the two was sick, or were they both sick. I soon learned that they are brothers. One is 2 years old and the other is about 8, and they are from South Africa. Their family had traveled all the way to America to ensure they would receive the best treatment in the world.
I quickly was reminded that many people, including kids, don’t want gifts for Christmas. They just want to be home and well enough to do the things children their age are destined to do. Kids just want to run and play and be like the next kid.
Sure it’s nice to open gifts and to give, but some gifts are priceless, like hugging your children, your niece or nephew or a family pet. It’s the little things in life that go a lot further than the latest gadget.
I never learned which of the two brothers was sick, but it didn’t take long to remember that the Ronald McDonald House is a home for children who are ill, and one of them definitely was.
There are just some things Santa can’t deliver; for everything else, there lies an opportunity within each one of us to reach deep into our hearts and give freely of ourselves to those who really need the extra TLC.
