What Do You Think Christmas Is About?

I used to teach gymnastics.

I know, I know… crazy, right?

In my younger days, I could do a back handspring with the greatest of ease, and now… you hear a chorus of onomatopoeias sing as my back bends like concrete over a hot metal rail.

Kids like sounds, so that’s all that matters.

As a gymnastics instructor, I had the chance to see children overcome obstacles like the balance beam and the high bar, and it was a truly rewarding experience. One of the most rewarding experiences came during our summer “Big Show.”

The “Big Show” was a chance for the kids to showcase what they learned… provided they could overlook the amount of people focused on them as they performed routines we created for them. Most kids were terribly frightened (I know I would be), but we believed that if you made it fun, kids would build self esteem and confidence. It was a pretty cool model… no matter the child’s performance, we gave them all gold medals because they tried. That’s what’s most important.

In between routines, one of my kids (I’ll call him Stewie… even though that wasn’t his name) ran to the mountain of blue mats I was standing on as I was making announcements about the next rotation. Little Stewie tugged on my pants and whispered, “Mr. Stephen… I need to make an announcement…”

Puzzled, I said, “Okay, Stewie… do you want me to hold the microphone for you?” He quietly said, “No, Mr. Stephen… you’re silly. I can hold a microphone by myself.”

As I helped him up, I thought, “Oh, please… I hope he doesn’t say something inappropriate…”

The room was all abuzz with parents congratulating their children, instructors were running around preparing for the next rotation of routines, and there stood little Stewie… microphone in hand… King of the proverbial Mountain…

I waited with bated breath, and I hear…

EVERYONE! EVERYONE! PLEASE LOOK AT ME! I HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL YOU!

I smiled at Stewie to give him my approval, and he says… (mind you, it was June)

CHRISTMAS IS ABOUT PEOPLE! IT’S NOT ABOUT PRESENTS… IT’S ABOUT PEOPLE!

My facial expression was probably a look of, “Oh my gosh… who is this kid?”

But seriously… how awesome is that?!

Here’s this kid who’s about 6 years old, and he’s telling everyone that Christmas is about people…

Naturally, I teared up.

While Christmas (let’s not forget Hanukah and Kwanzaa) is only a few weeks away, you still have time to cook up something great for someone else. Think about those less fortunate who may not get anything this holiday season. While you’re busy running around in a tizzy, take a moment to stop and think about others. What can you do to make this holiday season better for them?

I ask that you remember little Stewie’s message this holiday season:

Christmas (and Hanukah and Kwanzaa) is about people.