National Roots Day Illustrates the Importance of Family
National Roots Day (December 23) gives people a chance to explore their family’s heritage and history by sharing stories that bring memories and meaning.
One year, Mom and Dad gave me a cordless screwdriver for Christmas. I’d never seen anything like this. It easily fit in my pocket, had an assortment of screwdriver heads, and a stand that would recharge the batteries. If a nut was rusted tight, it might not break it loose, but for jobs with a dozen screws to remove and replace, it was great!
That same year, my significant other gave me an electric drill. It came with a variety of heads and bits – and it did have the power to break loose the tightest bolt. Plus, it had a small bit to drill through glass or ceramic and large one to make a doorknob hole. For really big jobs, it was no trouble to get the extension cord out; it never ran out of energy.
The next year, Mom and Dad gave me a top-of-the-line name-brand electric toaster oven. I didn’t have a gas oven then so this was great! I could toast my bagel, bake some biscuits, or grill some fish.
That same Christmas, my lady friend gave me a microwave oven. I must have been the last person in town to have one and I found a use for it every day. It came with a cookbook and I experimented with dozens of new recipes.
Mom approached me the next year and expressed dismay about the presents she gave. “I feel like your girlfriend gives you the same kind of gifts we give – but better, more versatile, and more expensive,” she said. “So I don’t want to compete with her this year.”
She asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I said a clock radio, “just like the kind you and Daddy have by your bedside.” OK, Mom said, “But she better not get you a big stereo.”
I gave my lady friend the heads-up. She thought it was endearing that my poor folks felt threatened by her extraordinary gifts.
That was all more than 30 years ago. I don’t remember what my significant other gave me that year. But I still have the clock radio – and it has outlasted all the other gifts.
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The post National Roots Day — It’s Christmas, Not a Competition appeared first on The Good Men Project.