holly berries
The older kids have opened their presents; Jenny still isn’t home yet.
They all got what they wanted- short list this year. But they seemed as happy as older children are- who can still remember the magic of Santa Claus, who have walked through a city of bright lights that reminded them of the Christmas star- to whom magic and miracle are intertwined, and so close that they can smell them, but not quite recapture them.
Rebecca, in particular, had an eclectic list. She is in college, unable to find a job, and is on a tight budget because she depends on us for all of her expenses to be covered. She had requested a card to a local grocery store, in addition to a couple other gift cards. I got her one, but it felt strange giving her that, and I mentioned how I felt. This was her logic:
If I get a gift card for food, I can use it for the week’s groceries. Then I can use the college money that I get for clothes.
It seemed like circuitous logic to me, and I said so. I guess she felt that asking for two clothing gift certificates would be too much, I don’t know. I said that I could follow her thought process, but it wasn’t direct for me.
Then she said, ” ‘I’ll take the crust.’ ” I knew exactly what she meant, and those 4 words sum up the entire thought process of an adult, to me.
Maybe there is always such abundance that no one ever needs to eat the crust, or the tough slice of meat. But for an adult, most of whom most of the time would trade their own life to see their child’s life spared, filling up on crusts is a small token. And Becca has recognized this, maybe in relation to her boyfriend, or her other friends, or maybe because of finances in general.
So one has made the journey to adulthood.
