… what do you want for the holidays?

I have to say that I have been asked a lot of questions in my lifetime.  Some have been easy ones; some not so easy.  Unfortunately, I find one of the hardest questions “what do YOU want for (fill in the blank)?  This time of year that blank is filled in by holidays/Christmas.

I don’t want for material things.  If I need clothing or undergarments or shoes, I buy them for myself when I have the money to do so.  When I want jewelry, a new book, a new CD, I buy it when I can afford it.  I don’t like to think of what I want that people can give me.

Maybe my difficulty in answering the question comes from being very independent.  I like to think I can survive on my own.  I have raised six children, mostly myself.  I have found work and friends and love.  I have lost work and friends and love.  I just like doing it my way and on my own.

I have, though, in recent months, come to notice that I am depending more on others.  I look to my friends for support when things go bad.  I look to my friends to help me celebrate when things go good.  I look to myself to straighten out the bad and make the good but both are nothing without others with which to share it.

I am still toying with what I want for the holidays.  I look around and my home and think I want for nothing.  I need nothing material.  I do have a list of books I wish to read but I do not need more books in my house.

I want things people cannot give me in a box.  I want, as cliche as it sounds, peace on earth.  I want to see our military respected both at home and abroad for the good they do.  I want my children to realize that material goods are not the end all to life.  I want my children, my friends, my family to be healthy and to be happy.

Would someone box that all up for under the tree Christmas morning?