Wants vs. Needs

I have engaged in this debate more times than I have even thought humanly possible in a life time.  And I will do it untold times in the future.  And yet, for as many times as I have battled, I still have a hard time distinguishing between a want and a need, especially as the Holiday season draws nearer.  Especially since I am the type of person that wants to buy my friends and family everything they wish for. Sometimes the line can get a little fuzzy, but at other times, it is so amazingly clear...

Want - new shoes that make my calves look long and slim (instead of muscular from running). Preferably with high heels and red soles.
Need -  new running shoes or any shoes to keep my feet from being unshod in public places.

Want - latest cell phone technology to keep me in the loop with all of my friends.  Especially since majority of said friends live on another continent.
Need - cell phone to keep me safe when it finally happens that one of these crazy Chilean drivers hits me, and they begin ranting at me in very rapid Chilean Spanish (and yes, this is different than Spanish).  I just need to be able to call someone - anyone - that can translate for me.

Want - one, just one, lens for my new camera that can become my walking around lens.  Right now I have very specific lenses, that take very specific shots and it means switching lenses.  A lot.
Need - well, honestly, I have the camera (which was a want, more than a need) so I can't justify anything.

Want - a safe, secure home.
Need - a safe secure home. (Sometimes there just is no line).

Want - my girls to believe in Santa and all the magic that it brings in this month leading up to the holiday's.  I want them to behave because if they don't, Santa won't bring them any gifts (is there an emptier threat, anywhere?).
Need - my girls to know the true meaning of Christmas, that there is just as much magic in giving as there is in receiving, to know that when it all comes down to the nitty gritty, that even if we didn't have Christmas, we would have each other and that is enough.

I could go on and on.  We all could. We make lists this time of year to send to Santa, to send to family, to keep on our computers because we just can't find the time, or even remember, to give them to anyone.  They are lists of wants.  Very rare is the list that states "All I need is enough food to feed my family, enough money to pay for a roof over my head, and a job that makes this all possible".  I don't think I have ever made a list of things I need.  Because I don't think in all of my years of being on this earth, I have ever experience true need.  Oh, as a teenager, I bet I could have made a long, drawn out case about how I "needed" this or that.  In reality, I have been blessed.  This life has given me more than I could ever have wished for on any list.

So the next time you hear me complain about something, remind me of all that I have.  All that I have had and all that I will have.  Remind me that it is about health, not wealth.  It is about redemption, not exception.  It is about contrition, not acquisition.

I am so truly blessed this holiday season.  Because I have my health, I have my family and I have a roof over my head.  I have love, I have faith and I have two little girls that remind me every day that I. Have. It. All.  But I still have a Christmas list if you would like to see it...