Thankful Tree

The day after Halloween, my son asked me, "How long until Christmas?"  And I have no doubt, I will be asked that question numerous times in the next 51 days.  He comes down with a serious case of the "I wants" every year at this time.  Say "I want" five times in a row, really quickly.  "IwantIwantIwantIwantIwant."  He wants the Justice League strategy game.  He informed me that the game is at Target, on the long aisle at the end of the toy department, bottom shelf.  And it costs 25 dollars.  Smart boy.  He knows that fits into the budget.  Then he looked at the Target catalog over the weekend.  Now he also wants the Avengers Legos.  He isn't the only child with the "I wants" at this time of year. In fact, many adults walk around with this same condition.  Adult toys just appear more useful, a tablet, a smart phone, an electronic reader.  IwantIwantIwant.  Stop and think right now.  If you were given 200 dollars, do you know what you would buy?  IwantIwantIwant.
Why do we as human beings want so much?  Is our stuff really bringing us joy?  If it is, why do we have another "I want" a year later. One month after Christmas, my son's gratification from his stuff will be gone.  One month after ripping the paper off, he will have played that game two dozen times.  His brother will have swallowed or lost several of the legos, and it won't be exciting anymore.  He will be back to the grumbling of everyday life.  "Why do I have to do homework?" "Why do I have to eat so much healthy food?" "Why can't you buy more fun food at the store?" "I don't want to go to bed."  That stuff in boxes wrapped under our tree will bring him joy for a day, maybe a week, a month at the most.

How do we teach our children, and ourselves, that stuff isn't what life is about?  On Nov. 1st, we started the annual thankful tree at our house.  In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, we add a paper leaf to a hand drawn tree that we hang up.  And each leaf says what we are thankful for that day.  So far on the tree:
1. friends
2. mom and dad
3. the park
4. God

Do you see what I see?  Nothing he has named can be bought from a store or put in a box.  These are the things that we need to remind ourselves to be thankful for everyday.  Relationships are so much more important than the stuff that we use to entertain ourselves.  Even if he were to be thankful for "the game", he would be much more likely to write on the leaf "Dad played a game with me", than the word "Stratego".  As we are about to enter this insane shopping season when our society tells us that we have to spend hundreds of dollars to make our children happy, let's remember the things that they are thankful for that will last.  Go for a walk.  Bake some cookies together.  Read a book together from the library. And ask them what they are thankful for.  Because in my experience, a thankful heart is the only sure cure for the "I wants".