It’s the day after Christmas. Here in the United States, that means the customer service lines are long as people return their gifts. In other parts of the world – Australia, Britain, Canada, and New Zealand – it’s Boxing Day.
If you’re not familiar with it, you might suspect that there’s fist-a-cuffs over gift exchanges! But Boxing Day is a tradition of giving gifts to people who are less fortunate.
We don’t want to leave the impression that we think us Yanks are Scrooges. A lot of people here are very generous throughout the holiday season. But we think Boxing Day is an interesting tradition, truly in tune with the spirit of this time of the year.
We found a great story about a mom who taught her son about the value of giving. We’ll hit the highlights here. It’s written from the son’s point-of-view.
The other night we saw an episode of According to Jim. Jim (played by Jim Belushi) was stressing because he had not had a good year – money was tight and it was Christmas time. He was afraid he wouldn’t be able to buy his kids the gifts they wanted.
His wife, Cheryl (Courtney Thorne-Smith) pointed out to him that the kids had barely looked at the presents they got the year before. In fact, one was still in its original package – it had been unwrapped but never opened and played with!
Maybe that kid was just a collector at heart!
But this show made us think … sometimes we get caught up on getting something new and not reflecting on the gifts we already have. So today we want to unwrap some of our most special gifts.
If you want to listen to us open these gifts, just click the “play” button above. Otherwise, picture each package being opened …
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Why don’t you kick it off, Mary-Lynn?
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This one is a real, real special one. It’s the gift of my Dad. He had a bit of a health scare going into the holidays. He’s fine – clean bill of health. So thank you, God. I love my gift this year! Alright George, it’s your turn.
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My gift is memories of Mom and Dad. Mom’s been gone a couple of years now so it’s still somewhat fresh, I guess. I think about the things I learned from them, the things that helped make me who I am, for better or worse – I can blame them! I had a very special Mom and Dad and I’m very thankful for that. Now, you’re up Mary-Lynn.
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Oh, yes … we’ve had a cold winter here in Illinois. There have been nights when you just hear that wind outside howling and I am inside and toasty warm! So the gift of a nice warm house is something I’m very, very grateful for this year.
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We often don’t stop to think about the basics and how many people there are who don’t even have something as simple as that.
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Exactly. Alright, George, tear into the next one.
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One of the features of our car is remote unlock. Man, as we’ve been out shopping in the cold, it’s really nice to be able to find your car quickly because it winks at us. And of course, to be able to get right in once you’re to it.
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That’s a good one. Okay, I’ll open the next one. Ah, the gifts of our kitty cats – Fifi and Fraidy. We have original cat names, don’t we? Boy, they just give us gifts all year long … loving and purring.
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Yeah, and sometimes they leave us a little something on the floor!
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We don’t like those gifts at all!
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Okay, let’s open the next one. It’s for both of us, Mary-Lynn. Let’s see what it is … ah, it’s our families. You have a great family, Mary-Lynn. Love your dad and your sister.
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You have a great family, too. Your sisters are all so fun – listening to all of the siblings laughing together. It’s just so nice!
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Yes, and the in-laws aren’t so bad either. A cool group of nephews and now, one little niece. And Mary-Lynn, while we’re on family, I have to say that I’m also very thankful for you.
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Ah, that’s so sweet. I’m thankful for you too. You’re a special man!
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It brings up the point, though. I think sometimes those closest to us are the people we most take for granted. We often don’t show them the appreciation we should.
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Yeah, I forget about you all the time, George.
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I know you do!
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George, I’ve got to tell you … I think we scored this Christmas.
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I’m with you on that – but Mary-Lynn, I just noticed something … over there in the corner, it looks like there’s another bigg present for us.
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Alright, let’s open it up … ah yes, of course. This is something we’re really grateful for.
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We’re grateful for you! The fact that you spend time with us like you do – you share your insights, you listen to our show, you read our blog posts. However you spend time with us, we’re just so thankful.
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You are the reason that we get to do what we love to do! That is such an amazing gift and we thank you so much.
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So to you we say, whatever your chosen holiday at this time of year, we wish you and yours the very best. For us, it’s Christmas … so Merry Christmas!
Today’s blog is inspired from a quote we heard on a rerun of M*A*S*H. Colonel Sherman Potter, played by the great Harry Morgan, said,
“If you ain’t where you are, you’re no place.”
Isn’t that a profound statement? We loved it so much that we mashed up 6 tips on how to live in the moment.
#1 – Get past the past. You can’t change it, but you can change the here and now. You’ve learned from the past – now get over it.
This applies to the good as well as the bad. You can’t rest on past successes, either. As the old saying goes, “Failure waits for all who stay with some success made yesterday.” It’s yesterday’s news – move on.
#2 – Stop fretting about the future. “Tomorrow will take care of tomorrow,” we’re told. You should plan for your future, because that sets your direction. But once you have your plan, you have to focus entirely on the present.
Treat what’s going on now as a stepping stone. You’re working on your future by taking care of business today.
#3 – Stop wishing your life away. A number of people spend their whole lives wishing it away.
Wishing they were smarter. Or prettier.
Wishing they had more money. Or a bigger house.
They’re so concerned about what they DON’T have that they completely fail to appreciate what they DO have.
#4 – Count your blessings. Closely related to the last tip, learn to appreciate what you have and who you are. You’re a pretty special person. In fact, 90 you’re the greatest miracle in the world]!
So count your blessings. You’ll see that you have a lot for which to be thankful.
#5 – Pay attention to the little things in your everyday life. Use all your senses. Look around … really LOOK. See all the color, the textures.
Breathe the air. Breathe deep … unless you’re stuck in traffic in Los Angeles! Even then, you can feel the warmth of the sun.
The point – enjoy the beauty that is all around you.
#6 – Get in touch with your child-like nature. Kids are, without a doubt, our best teacher when it comes to living in the moment. They don’t think about yesterday; they don’t worry about tomorrow.
They only worry about what the other kid is playing with … just like us adults! Some things never change!
To a kid, each day is a new day full of wonder. So give yourself some time to play. Be inquisitive again – ask questions.
Our bigg quote today is by author Louise L. Hay.
“The point of power is always in the present moment.”
Yesterday is gone forever. Tomorrow never comes. So put all your energy into here … now.
Next time, we’ll discuss how to find your fortune through promiscuity. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!
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It’s the day after Christmas. Here in the United States, that means the customer service lines are long as people return their gifts. In other parts of the world – Australia, Britain, Canada, and New Zealand – it’s Boxing Day.
The other night we saw an episode of According to Jim. Jim (played by Jim Belushi) was stressing because he had not had a good year – money was tight and it was Christmas time. He was afraid he wouldn’t be able to buy his kids the gifts they wanted. 
This one is a real, real special one. It’s the gift of my Dad. He had a bit of a health scare going into the holidays. He’s fine – clean bill of health. So thank you, God. I love my gift this year! Alright George, it’s your turn.