I knew I was not supposed to be quite so excited. I was too old for that. At age eleven, the oldest and my
mom's "grown up" girl, I had to keep calm. I was in middle school
after all. But every chance I got, when I was alone, I 1 each present under the tree. I read every tag
(标签) and felt every bag, guessing at the things within. I had examined
each gift so often that I could tell which2went to which person without looking at the tags.
It had been a hard year for my
family. Whenever my mom looked over at the tree and presents, she would sigh (叹气) and warn us, "There won't be as much for
Christmas this year. Try not to be 3."
Christmas had been a time for
my parents to spoil (宠爱) us. I had heard the
phrase "giving
is better than receiving",
but getting presents was the whole point!
On Christmas morning, we 4 waited in the hallway until Dad told us
everything was ready. We rushed into the living room and had to wait and 5 while other
family members opened their presents, but as the time passed we lost our self-control.
"Here's another one for
you," said Mom as she handed me a bag. I looked at it, confused. Having
spent so much time examining the presents before Christmas, I 6 this one. It was for my mom!
It was a blow dryer. While this may
seem only a simple gift, to me it was so much more. But, in my world, where
receiving was more important than giving, my mom's act of selflessness was
difficult to 7. I thought in disbelief about how much
my mom must love me to do that.
I have always remembered that
Christmas with love. As an adult with children, I can now see my mom was
finding an even greater 8 in
her Christmas because giving truly is better than receiving. To me, my mom's
simple act meant the world.
