The Autodidact

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Marinos! Well, here's a summary of what is going on here, at least as far as I can tell. It is hard keeping track of all those kids, and I am getting on in years. As you can see, some of us are happier than others, but that's the way it goes. Jared, 12, is excelling in drawing and has branched into drawing actual people, in addition to dragons and wizards and fantasy creatures. He's turning out to be quite a sharpshooter with a bow and arrow and a .22. His days are filled with reading, drawing, using his imagination and creating. Ellie, 4, fills the role of baby of the family quite adeptly. She draws and sings and plays all day long fairly contentedly, and is learning to ice skate. She was pretty close to swimming all on her own by the end of summer, and gleefully jumped off the diving board into the deep end, where her big sister was waiting to catch her. At least, that's what I'm told; I

There are occasional lists or rules presented around Christmastime to help parents navigate the gift giving part of the season, and hopefully reign in the madness of too much stuff under the tree. Years ago, a friend shared that she limited the gifts to three things to commemorate the three gifts mentioned in the Bible that Jesus received. And that's a helpful place to start. On the other end of the spectrum, I have known parents whose kids make lengthy lists of things they want and the parents can choose from that list (or get all of it). Recently, there has been circulating the Four Gift Rule: one thing the child wants, one thing the child needs, an article of clothing and a book. Again, it's a helpful place to start. Some parents protested that rule because the last three suggestions were not, actually gifts. And, as can be expected, this got me to thinking. What are good gifts to give our kids? Just things they want? Are things they need, such as clothes or books, real