How do I explain to my family that my husband wants 2 chickens for Christmas this year? And how do I explain that it's not an unreasonable request?
Every year, the Robinson family gets together in Indiana the day after Christmas. The brothers and sisters do a gift exchange- having drawn names two months prior. I've never especially liked this tradition because I feel like it's an elaborate show of who got who the better present--and I always stink at getting people presents- so naturally, gift exchanges such as these are not my forte. I go in circles about it- 'it doesn't matter if someone else's gift is better, mine comes from the heart, blah blah blah' -when usually I go with the same present of a picture in a frame or something that is supposed to mean something. It's safe.
You know what's not safe? Asking for 2 chickens to be donated in your name to a family through World Vision. Now that's a hard email to write. How do you even begin to explain the concept to a family that's all about giving presents to each other in front of everyone else? What will they present in person? A certificate that says, "I gave 2 ducks in Pete's name to World Vision and now they won't stop sending me crap." I'm at a loss of how this will play out.
But even more than my concern of how this will go over with the giver of Pete's present, I love that my husband wants 2 chickens to be given to a family. Leave it up to Pete to pinpoint what Christmas is all about. Sacrifice. Gifts. Birth. Life. Wonder. (I didn't mention Jesus but it's implied for anyone who wants to critique me.) I ask myself how much more complicated it was the night of Jesus' birth...for Mary, for Joseph, for the world. A lot more complicated than asking for 2 chickens.
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