Carve out S.T.O.P.sSM, Significant Tuning-in Opportunities to Pause and reflect, to enrich meaning
and clarify direction.
Lauren Burnett
Lauren Burnett
Center for Inner Quality
Phone: 440-877-9390
Lauren@centerforinnerquality.com
Reflection Notes
The Magic Stocking
Several Thanksgiving ago, I visited my daughter, Amanda and my four year old granddaughter, Kaileigh in Colorado. During my visit, we visited a craft store to gather supplies for my granddaughter’s special tree in her room. She wouldn’t leave the store without taking home one of those little red furry Christmas stockings with the white tops--one just right for her size.
We got everything home and together crafted decorations to place on the tree using sparkles, doilies, ribbon and glass beads. Quite pleased with our efforts, we stood back and admired the happy little tree. Kaileigh said it needed just one thing to make it perfect. She took this little red stocking, looped its tie over the top branch of the tree and claimed it, HER tree!
Since my Thanksgiving visit to Colorado would serve as our Christmas together, the adults decided to place their presents under the tree to be opened after Kaileigh's afternoon nap. I placed a gift of watercolor paints in Kaileigh’s little red stocking at the top of “her” tree. Later in talking it over, we decided that nighttime would be a better time to exchange gifts. Hurriedly we gathered all the gifts before Kaileigh woke and placed them in the front closet to await the evening's festivities.
Just as we were finished tucking away the presents, Kaileigh woke from her afternoon nap. Her mom and I were in kitchen preparing a snack when we heard this little gasp. Kaileigh raced into the kitchen, her face aglow with the golden radiance of a child's joy.
"Nana, Mommy, guess what? Look what the stocking gave me! He brought these paints. I have a magic stocking! Aren't I lucky?" Amanda and I smiled each other as we realized I had left the paints in the red stocking when we gathered the gifts for evening.
I peaked around the corner to watch Kaileigh race back out to the tree in the living room and wiggle her little hand deep inside to see if there were more goodies. When she came up empty handed, she happily accepted what was. She shrugged her small shoulders; hugged the paints tightly to her heart; and rocked them lovingly as though they were a new-born babe.
On the plane half-way home, I found myself struck by the memory of Kaileigh’s stocking. Wouldn’t it be wonderful when we reached our hand into the new of life, we could do so with Kaileigh’s same positive expectation as she discovered a gift in her a Christmas stocking? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could be as grateful as Kaileigh for whatever small miracle the stocking of life offered us--even though we might have anticipated more?
I am very blessed for Kaileigh and her magic stocking and the rekindled wonder and magic they gave me for believing.
Let your holidays be graced the magic, wonder and joy I experienced during that very special holiday season some time ago.