Cashing In

All my kids want for Christmas this year is cash. That's all they wanted for their birthdays too.

--I remember when I was young, it was a no-no to give cash as a gift. My granny Dot and grandpa Lou would send a check to my parents and call it our Christmas from them. I recall it being a sore spot with my folks because it appeared that granny and grandpa were taking an easy way out instead of taking time to pick out gifts for us and send them. We kids probably wouldn't have even known about their check if it hadn't been a "big deal".

--The granny and grandpa that I remember were emotionally detached and distant, that's true. But the fact that they even bothered to fill out a check, address an envelope and send it to us was probably as much effort as they could muster. I mean, they didn't have to send anything at all, did they. They could very well have just let the season pass without a gesture of any sort. I think it's kinda nice that they made an effort in spite of the fact that it didn't sit well with the folks at the time.

--One year, about the time LL was born, granny sent a box to us for Christmas. I don't remember what else was in the box except one item: a wonderful white fur (faux) coat for me. Really? I was so excited. It had a collar and it was double-breasted with two rows of buttons on the front. A beautiful coat for me. Just for me. Not a hand-me-down, not a boy's coat castoff. A sweet girly coat just for me. So why couldn't I put it on? It reeked of smoke and the folks wouldn't let me near it. Granny and grandpa were chain smokers and the coat smelled like it. The coat spent days airing out but never really lost the odor of smoke entirely. (The coat was not machine washable either.) But, I finally did get to wrap up in it and enjoy having a cute fur coat (that consequently ended up being a couple of sizes too small anyway). Although I only got to wear it a handful of times, I treasured that coat and will always remember it.

--Did I tell you that I've done the work for both granny and grandpa? Yeah. Soda and I did the temple work for both of them. They were sealed (by some missionaries and myself as proxies) too. I have their picture on my bookshelf. Not all memories are rosey, but they have a soft place in my heart.

Cash is okay in my book.