Village Squire, 1979-12, Page 50P.S.
I've got my Christmas presents
BY KEITH ROULSTON
.ume parents don't want their children
to grow up. They hate the thought of their
little darlings someday growing up and
going out on their own. I'm not among
them.
I am perfectly happy for my children to
grow up. Except at Christmas. The idea of
the empty nest doesn't bother me except
when it's time to decorate the nest with
holly and ivy.
It's very fashionable these days not to
want to have children. Children get in the
way of the full enjoyment of the "with it"
society we've built in the 1970's. What do
you do with the kids when both husband
and wife want to pursue exciting careers?
How to you put up with the attention the
kids need when you both come home
from work exhausted at night? Who'll look
after the kids when you want to go to the
theatre or the disco or a movie? How do
you take the kids along when you jet off to
Acapulco?
There are times I must admit when I
have a twinge of envy for those
free -of -strings swingers. Having to worry
about finding a babysitter requires only
slightly Tess strategic planning than the
Normandy landing to get a night out. It
means that spur-of-the-moment decisions
to go somewhere are a thing of the past. It
also means you can tack a few dollars extra
onto the price of a night out even though
the babysitter is still underpaid at that.
But I feel no envy for the swinging
singles at Christmas time. I've spent
Christmas with no children in the house
and 1 can think of nothing more bleak.
Maybe it's me, but a Christmas without
children around is a Christmas without its
magic.
I guess I've been lucky at Christmas. I
had an older sister and a younger brother
and there were seldom any Christmases
without the sparkle in a child's eye to light
up the festivities brighter than the fanciest
ornament on the Christmas tree. My
(brother still had that excitement of
anticipation and discovery for a few
years after I'd grown out of it. We went
through grown-up Christmases for a while
after he grew too sophisticated to get
wound up over Christmas but my older
sister soon had children who were lighting
up our Christmas with their pleasure. I
remember my brother once hiking up the
road to my sister's to spend Christmas eve
so he could be on hand when the children
tumbled downstairs in the morning to see
what Santa had left behind.
Again after we got married my wife and I
spent the odd Christmas with relatives
48 Village Squire, December 1979
where there were no children and again
there was something missing. Adults open
each others presents and try to sound oh so
pleased and enthusiastic but somehow it all
sounds so polite, so...dull.
It wasn't long before our own children
started putting the spirit back into
Christmas. This year we have three
children at various ages impatiently
waiting for the big day to arrive. Oh it can
be tiring at times. When you've put the
Christmas mail order catalogue away for
the upteenth time you start to wish
catalogues had never been invented. When
you see them programming children on
television to ask Santa or daddy for the
latest expensive gadget that will break
down before Christmas day is over you'd
like to wring somebody's neck.
But I can live through all that. I can live
through it for the growing excitement that
will build around our house almost daily
now until the big day arrives. I can live
through it for the look of awe in a child's
face when he sees Santa Claus in person at
some local event or other. I can live
through it to enjoy the enthusiasm the
children put into practicing something for
the school's Christmas concert.
I can put up with the problems for the
problem of trying to persuade a youngster
that it's time to close his eyes on Christmas
eve and not to get up during the night to try
to spot Santa or the reindeer.
And next day I know it will be hard to get
the youngsters to sit down to breakfast
when they'd rather be in the livingroom
playing with their new toys. 1 know that
throughout the day we adults will
sometimes have to scream to make
ourselves heard to each other because the
children are so full of excitement they're
nearly bouncing off the ceiling. 1 know
they'll fill up with so much candy they
won't be able to eat a decent Christmas
dinner. I know that they'll be thoroughly
spoiled but for one day I'll gladly let then,
be.
Because what the children will give me
at Christmas is far more valuable than
anything Santa or I can give them No Star
Wars toy or fashion doll can match the gift
the children will give to we adults. For
giving really is more pleasure than
receiving with children around. I could
enjoy shopping at Christmas even in the
hectic crowds for the thing that will make a
child's eyes light up and this voice start to
crackle with electricity.
No, you don't have to put anything on
your shopping list for me. I've already got
what 1 want for Christmas: three of them.
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