Hey, that's my stuff!

I walked into a local Walmart just before Christmas and my mind was boggled by the huge abundance of stuff!

Yes, stuff, it's everywhere! Snow cone machine? You got it! Apple peeler? Yep. Espresso machine? Uh huh, several kinds. Fishing stuff, sewing stuff, cooking stuff, car stuff, movies, books, CDs, appliances, toys, stuff, stuff, stuff and more stuff! It's insane!

If my grandmother, bless her heart, could walk into a Walmart Super Center today, she would probably have a heart attack from stuff overload! I doubt she saw as much "stuff' in her whole life as is available in just one Walmart, Target, K-Mart, or other super store today!

Are we spoiled or what? Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy my stuff as much as anybody. In fact, my hubbie is always telling me I need to get rid of "all that stuff.” However, he hasn't agreed to get rid of any of his stuff yet, so I'm digging in and holding on to all mine. I might need it someday.

But I remember Christmases when I was a child, and getting one or two presents made me ecstatic! One year I got a doll with a blue dress andbrown curly hair. That was it. And I was happy! (Well, sort of. My nephew got a BB gun, and I kind of wanted that too. But back then girls didn't get BB guns, so I just learned to shoot his.) I knew my parents didn't have a lot of money, and I didn't expect very much.

One year there was a teddy bear sitting unwrapped under the tree with a big red bow around his neck. I really wanted a teddy bear but hadn't asked because I didn't think my parents could afford to buy me one, so I knew this one could not be for me. My older brothers and sisters always came for Christmas, and I figured it was for one of their kids. But then my youngest sister picked it up and handed it to me, and I almost cried - over a teddy bear! But I kept that bear for years and finally gave it to that sister's little boy after I had outgrown it. That was one of my best-ever Christmases, and I only got one item of "stuff.”

I will always remember that Little House on the Prairie episode where Mr. Edwards played Santa and brought Laura, Mary and Carrie, a peppermint stick, an orange and a tin cup. What? My kids would have passed out. But those girls were amazedand grateful for that small amount of stuff!

It wasn't quite that "Little House on the Prarie-ish" at my childhood home. We never wanted for anything, but our house was pretty empty of stuff. We had what we needed but didn't have a surplus of items that were only used a few times a year, or once and never touched again.

My dad would have tossed an Espresso machine out the window. Mom made coffee in an old metal pot that sat on a stove burner and "perked" when it was done. No fancy little filters or pre-measured packets.

Now, later on in his life, my dad started making up for not having much stuff as a younger man. He loved to go to auctions and would buy boxes full of unknown stuff and have a grand time when he got home sorting through them and finding all kinds of "good stuff,' while mom stared daggers at his back. She didn't like stuff that much.

It seems that, with each passing year, toy companies crank out more and more items meant to entice and push the "I want that" button in our children. And why do toy makers make an item,advertise it excessively, and then not make enough to meet the demand? I've seen this over and over again, from Tickle Me Elmo to Care Bears. My daughter wanted a Care Bear one year and there wasn't a single one to be found in northwest Arkansas. Luckily, my sister lives in Tulsa and was able to snag one. Same thing forthe "Pogo Ball" my middle son coveted and the Cabbage Patch Dolls when they first came out years ago. I ran all over Benton and Washington Counties searching and, by the time Christmas came, I was too tired to enjoy watching my children open all their stuff!

I heard something from a friend recently that I think worthy of passing on. I'm not sure where she got it, but it is advice for buying gifts for your children: "Something they want, something they need, something to wear andsomething to read." Now I know that seems pretty sparse, but most of our kids get gifts not only from parents but numerous grandparents and sometimes aunts and uncles, so this might work!

And just think how many Angel tags you could take and fill if you could pare down your own Christmas some. Just some thoughts.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and that you didn't have to spend much time standing in lines returning any unwanted stuff!

Tamela Weeks is a Gentry resident and freelance writer. She may be reached at Tamela.weeks@gmail.

com.