So, Christmas has come and gone and Kwanzaa is well underway. I spent the entire day with Kali which included time at the park, lunch, walking, a movie, the whole nine! We had a great time, to say the least. I’ve even given up my office (b.k.a the 2nd bedroom) so that she can have a room at my place as well. Funny how she’s gotten to the age where she asks questions like. “Daddy, where’s my room?” with such innocence and curiosity.
Bottom line, we had a long, near flawless day, until after I dropped her back at her mom’s. Earlier in the day Kali asked for an Alice doll (Angelina Ballerina’s best friend – for those of you don’t know). I hesitated in my mind because she had just received several toys/dolls the day before and I truly don’t want to get her into the habit of expecting a gift everytime we are together. But despite all, I told her that I would find out where Mommy got the original doll from and we would see about getting the new one.
Fast forward to the end of the night… I was driving her back and she fell asleep within minutes because of the long day. I carried her to the door and she went into her aunt’s arms, slightly awake, but clearly out of it. We said our tired goodbyes and I left for home to begin Kwanzaa. Before I got home, her mom called saying that she was crying saying that I promised her an Alice doll and that she didnt get it. Now I do understand dissappointment, but come on!
This is why it is so hard for me to celebrate holidays in their current state of beg and buy. This has increasingly become the norm with all the “Black Friday”, “Cyber Monday”, and the day after Christmas. Buy, buy, buy, and children (and adults for that matter) get a ridiculous amount of toys, gadgets and the like – digging further into debt and further away from any kind of a true meaning to Thanksgiving or Christmas. Kwanzaa is still preserved, but over shadowed by sales that traditionally follow December 25 and the upcoming festivities of New Year’s.
After a grand day of activities and undeniable love between me and my little girl, it all ends with big tears running down her face, professing that I promised a darn toy?!? Even at the tender age of 4, Kali is well aware of the power of superficial gifts and is susceptible to get caught up in the mindset of wanting far beyond her needs, to the point of greed. I won’t dare be too harsh about this, after all, she may just be acting out because she misses me and (as she often says when stalling) “I don’t want to go”. It’s possible and I will have to monitor this over time. Meanwhile, it’s a chance for her mom and I to start communicating on this and be prepared to combat some of the worldly garbage that isn’t going away anytime soon.
Stay tuned…
AKOFENA ARTS - IT'S A VIBE 