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Home for the Holidays – A season of
giving
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[November 26, 2024]
I will admit that I don’t watch a lot of television, but when I do,
I have a fondness for sit-coms that require very little brain power
to absorb. I think a lot of people feel that way, after a long day
or a long week of exercising the mind and body, the last thing we
want is thought provoking entertainment where that we have to figure
out who the killer is or how the cake was made.
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 Even
when I’m striving for thoughtless entertainment, though, once in a
while something creeps in and sticks in the brain. That’s not a bad
thing because now as I work to write an introduction for this year’s
Home for the Holiday’s online magazine, I am falling back on a life
lesson that I found in the most unusual place, a little show called
Big Bang Theory.
I’m reminded of a show where Sheldon exclaims that he is anti-gift
giving. He draws the analogy you give me $50, so I have to give you
the equal value or $50, and the end result is that for years and
years two people will exchange the $50 annually until one person
dies, and the other one is in essence the winner. I get it. That
happens a lot, especially in the workplace. You give your boss a
gift card, he or she gives you a check, and the cycle begins and
continues throughout your career.
In the show I’m thinking of though, it doesn’t quite work out that
way for Sheldon. You see he learns that Penny has gotten him a
Christmas present, so he must return the favor. But he doesn’t know
what she has gotten him, and has no idea how to equal the value of
her gift to one from himself.
His answer. He goes to the store and buys a dozen gift baskets of
varying dollar values. His theory, he will receive her gift, open
it, feign a tummy ache, and head to his room to choose the
appropriate valued gift basket.
Here’s the problem. When he opens his gift, it is a
dirty napkin signed by Leonard Nemoy, one of Sheldon’s personal
heroes. Then in the course of conversation he learns that Nemoy
wiped his mouth on the napkin before signing it for Penny. Sheldon
is overwhelmed by the thought that he now owns Leonard Nemoy’s DNA.
He rushes to his bedroom and grabs all the baskets he has bought and
showers Penny with his gifts. She exclaims, “Sheldon what did you
do?” and he replies, “I know, it isn’t enough!” In the end though
what he gives her that is truly invaluable is a hug. She is so
touched she nearly cries.
Let’s face it, if we know Penny, we know that she didn’t pay Leonard
Nemoy for his autograph, and more than likely she didn’t pay the
restaurant for the napkin. The gift she gave cost only the paper she
wrapped it in, yet to Sheldon, it was beyond priceless. And while he
gave her a number of gifts that more than likely cost him a few
hundred dollars, the gift of a hug for her was the most valuable.
Surely the life lesson here is obvious, but just in case, let me
spell it out for you. When you give from the heart, it doesn’t
matter what the price tag says.
This year the underlying theme of the Home for the Holiday magazine
is “a season of giving.” But what do we give, and is it going to be
as valuable as what we get, and does it really matter?
[to top of second column] |
Hopefully this year we will come to the realization
that the heart of the gift is the heart in the gift not the price
tag. So, while we are out shopping this year, we want to encourage
you to do two things. First, always shop locally because what you
pay for that special gift will stay in our community, supporting
your neighbors. And secondly, before you look at the price tag, look
in your heart and see if this is a gift that will hold special
meaning between you and the recipient? Remember the best gift comes
from the heart and if you are lucky, could earn you one of those
magnificent hugs that make us all feel warm inside.
Merry Christmas to all of our readers.
We love you more than you can possibly know!
Nila Smith, Karen Castelein and all the staff and stringers at
Lincoln Daily News.
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