As I jump out of my mom’s bright red car, she yells, “Don’t forget to put those bags in the foyer under the tree. It’s for the Christmas toy drive!”. I grab the four bags from the trunk with my thin little arms and run to the front door with my clunky boots. As I reach the heavy door, my arms droop from the bags’ weight, Mr. McFarland welcomes me into the school. When I stomp my boots on the sticky-rubber mats to get the packed snow off my feet, Mr. McFarland tells me to grab my indoor shoes and to drop my backpack off in my classroom so I can put my bags filled with toys under the tree.
Sprinting as fast as my little legs will carry me, I make it to the foyer with my bags. I stand under this massive tree with twinkle lights all around it, holding these toys. As a little kid would, I carelessly tip the bags upsidedown and stack the new toys under the tree. I step closer to the tree to see more of its decorations; I see that there are pictures of boys, girls and their parents that I have never seen before. The families in these pictures were wearing worn old clothes, and I was confused why they would not dress up for a photo. I think to myself, who are these people, why are they on our school tree, and why are they wearing ratty clothes? At this moment, I realized who these shiny, unopened toys were for. They were for the families in these pictures.
At this moment, I knew I was giving toys to other kids who did not have the luxuries that I had. This was my first introduction to what class I was in. I look back on this memory and remember how my parents always bought me the new, shiny, trendy toys. I was in the working/wealthy class. Being only seven years old in this memory, when my mom mentioned a “toy drive,” I had no idea what she was talking about. I am so pleased my parents made me participate in all the school toy, food, and clothing drives. I can’t even imagine how it is for some families, especially around the holidays with children. I will forever remember this memory as a reminder that not all people are as privileged and lucky I as was.
I found it intriguing how you incorporated a story of yourself giving to others who were less fortunate than you. At first, your joy came with the idea of shopping. You didn’t even consider who you were shopping for. Then when you realized who would be receiving the gifts, you found joy in giving to others.
I wondered if you felt a little guilty when you considered how easy it was for your parents to provide gifts for you. I also wonder if giving to the poor helped alleviate that guilt. At seven-years-old you might not have had those thoughts, but you might have them now.