Some years ago, my family started drawing names at Christmas. Between my parents, five kids and four spouses, finding and buying meaningful gifts for everyone just got too cumbersome. I opposed this idea at first, because I just really liked getting presents.
Now that I am older and wiser, it's a tradition I've come to embrace. My resources are now focused on buying one family member what they really want. I’ve always considered myself a top selection in the annual drawing of names. The last few years, my wish list included mainly items for my house - a ladder, a magazine rack, a Bissell Little Green Machine. All relatively straightforward, readily available, one size fits all gifts.
That is, until this year. My brother-in-law, Kyle, drew my name, which means that my second oldest sister will be shopping for me. When she asked for a few hints in post-Thanksgiving e-mail, I sat down to consider what I really wanted.
I had nothing. There was really nothing pressing I needed, nor anything of great importance that I truly coveted. Sure, if a 37 inch LCD HD television showed up under my Christmas tree, I'd be okay with that. And I'd like a digital camera, a Browning shotgun and there is a pink fly-fishing vest I've had my eye on. But those are all items I'm perfectly capable of buying myself, and well beyond our Christmas spending limit.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that my Christmas wish list was so short not because I lacked creativity, but because my life is truly blessed. I've got more than a girl really needs, and more than this girl certainly deserves.
To start with, I'm blessed with a supportive and loving family. True, they don't quite understand my new obsession with all things outdoors, but that aside, they are pretty amazing. Last year about this time, my father suffered a stroke and we spent the holidays in a hospital in Denver. Having always been a bit of a daddy's girl, the whole ordeal sent my world into a tailspin. But we pulled together and pulled through it, and now Dad is back on his feet, cracking bad jokes, playing dominos and attempting to navigate his way through cyberspace.
I also have one of the coolest jobs on the planet. I get paid assist with projects like the antelope capture and bighorn sheep transplant, and what's more, I get to force my captive e-newsletter audience to read my stories about such adventures. And I'm surrounded by talented and dedicated coworkers who are more than willing to share their passion for wildlife and wild spaces with me.
I get to live in, work for and explore the state of Wyoming, where the mountains are almost never out of sight, pronghorn darn near outnumber people and it is still possible to find a quiet place in the wilderness to escape to.
But when I'm tired of being alone in the woods, I also have a great cast of friends to come home to. They are the best kind of friends - friends to shoot with, hunt with, fish with, gamble with, yell at the refs at a UW football game with, laugh with and cry with.
I have pictures of my first hunt, a freezer full of meat and a self-confidence I never really knew I had.
And finally, I have a new puppy to laugh at, a grown dog who loves me unconditionally and a cute boy that calls occasionally.
So Santa can skip my house this year - I've already got the most precious gifts I'll ever receive.
Merry Christmas.
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