Cardboard Box

I love giving gifts. I get a little rush out of putting together the perfect combination of little things for someone that I know they will love and enjoy. Seeing the joy on their face and the excitement they get from that only builds my excitement in giving. There have been times when I sit there eagerly with camera in hand, waiting for the package to be opened so I can attempt to capture that joy. But the other day, my husband made an interesting comparison...

I've been asking Dan for awhile now what he REALLY wants for Christmas. And for just as long he has been telling me that it doesn't matter and he will like whatever I have decided to get him. I brushed off this answer a time or two and would repeat the question a week later...that is until my husband told me I was a cardboard box.

Here's what he meant: almost every parent knows that for a child the box is always much more fun and interesting than the actual toy. He explained that to him, I was the cardboard box, the means by which the gifts are delivered, and what he was really looking forward to was enjoying that time with me and the joy that I would get from giving him the gifts I had chosen.

So now that (almost) all the gifts are purchased and some of them are even wrapped, I look forward simply to enjoying the season and the time with family and friends. I'm excited to see what everyone's reaction is to the gifts we have for them, but I'm also learning that in the end, as long as my heart was in the gift, the time together is what really matters.

But, of course, the camera will still be on standby :)

I think I'm going to enjoy being a cardboard box ;)

Soli Deo Gloria,
Meghan