Christmas Eve my sister Leah threw out that she was really excited about one of my gifts this year. She also gave me a bit of a riddle saying it was a gift I could not keep. Random. We opened all the gifts for our family and there was the one box left, wrapped in simple brown paper. I opened and saw a sight I had not seen in years....Baby Skates.
When I was young I had wanted Baby Skates so badly. She was a doll that you could wind up and she roller-skated across hard surfaces. I know...it is life changing. She didn't even need batteries.
The story goes that the Christmas I wanted Baby Skates my mom and dad had me open every other present and held my most coveted gift back. I opened what I thought to be my last present and much to my disappointment it was a pair of Disney roller skates. You may see where my parents were going with the roller skates, but I was upset and apparently not good at hiding it. I cried and complained that I really wanted Baby Skates (I am not proud of this behavior and am pretty sure I would take all my girls' gifts back if they acted that way). But my obviously gracious parents consoled me and revealed to me that indeed they had bought me Baby Skates and they had gotten me my own roller skates so the two of us could roller skate together. Oops. Baby Skates and I roller skated the day away in the kitchen and lived happily ever after...until she got thrown away or something because I have no idea what ever became of her.
So this year Leah learned somehow that her neighbor had a Baby Skates doll in the original box. She had contemplated selling it to Leah but didn't think she could part with it (I am sure you can understand why). She was gracious enough to let Leah borrow it so we could relive some Stafford family Christmas lore. It is not my proudest Christmas moment but funny nonetheless. I was a much more gracious recipient this year and even gave it back without crying.
I hope you made some memories this holiday season and maybe even reflected on some old ones. Blessings in the New Year!