During a quick stop at Target today, my oldest daughter and I bumped into The Boy’s preschool teacher from last year.

I asked about school, and she admitted it was a hard year. One of the moms, she said, passed away this week after a long battle with cancer.

“They were believers,” she said, “and modeled to all of us what really matters. They lived well. They made every moment count. They spent so much time together making memories.”

But that wasn’t all. She reminded me of a tragic local story associated with our recent snowstorm–a van slipped down a slope and into a retention pond. Nobody made it out.

The victims were her neighbors.

This was not the typical Merry Christmas exchange I’ve enjoyed while out and about–nor has it become the typical Merry Christmas blog post, now that I’m relating it here–but her words were powerful to me. Prior to crossing paths with her, my daughter and I had been thinking about games and gifts.

“Kind of puts all this in perspective, doesn’t it?” I said. “All of this [I gestured to the products hanging on the wall next to us] is just….stuff.”

She nodded. “It’s true. I keep telling my kids that we don’t need this. We need to be sure we’re focused on each other. That’s what counts. None of this [she, too, nodded toward the aisle] matters.”

Suddenly aware of how serious our conversation had become, she forced a grin and suddenly said, “Well! You all have a very Merry Christmas! No more snow, right?”

I nodded. She didn’t have to pretend to be “up.” I appreciated the honesty. I needed the reminder.

As I finish my shopping this week, I, too, need to remember that it’s all just stuff. I don’t know if my daughter needed to hear that, too, but she was standing there the entire time.

It’s all just stuff.

In the midst of the rushing, fretting, ordering, and wrapping, don’t forget about the best gifts, the truest, most precious gifts of family, friends, and faith.

They, not those items tucked under the tree, are the treasures.

For actual tips, return to Rocks In My Dryer’s last-minute Christmas edition.

Or poke around my collection of past Works For Me Wednesday ideas.