Every year I ask my students to write an essay about the ONE thing they want for Christmas. [View all]

[proud2BlibKansan]

Only one thing. They have to choose. And they need to tell me why they want this one thing. And why they deserve it.

They always grumble at first and tell me they have 15 or 20 or 50 things on their list. They can't possibly pick just one. But eventually they do and I always get some really interesting essays. Some of them write about whatever the year's hot new toy is. Some lie and say they've been the best kid ever so they really deserve to get what they are asking for.

A few pick something like a new house for their family or a bag of money for their family. And every year some kid (usually a girl) writes about the one thing they would really like to give their little brother or sister.

Then one year I got an essay I'll never forget. It said ---

All I want for Christmas is electricity.

This kid was the sweetest little boy. He had 3 brothers and they lived with his aunt who had 5 kids of her own. His mom was a drunk who bounced in and out of jail and rehab. She came to school one time and you could smell the booze in the room for an hour after she left. Aunt had legal custody and did the best job she could but feeding 9 kids was a struggle. And that year, right before Christmas, she didn't have enough money to pay the electric bill.

And this sweet kid, who deserved to have a sack full of presents, only wanted electricity.

I think about that little boy every Christmas. And I hug my own kids and am so very thankful for what we have and what we are able to give each other.

So this Christmas Eve, hug your loved ones, reflect on the good things in your life and be grateful for what you have. Especially electricity.

Merry Christmas, DU!

p.s. Yes, we were able to contact a local agency who helped Aunt pay her electric bill and found another charity to take some groceries and presents to their home on Christmas Eve. When school started after Christmas break, that little boy told me he had the best Christmas ever. And I believe he probably did.