Storytellers Project to present stories about the holidays

When Chris Lundy was younger, he saw Christmas presents from his mother as a reflection of his self-worth. 

So things went badly when he was 17 and received a cheap-looking T-shirt that he thought looked like it came from the corner pharmacy.

“I hated it,” the Baltimore resident said of the cream-colored T-shirt featuring a majestic lion with in the foreground and African plains in the background. “Not only because the gift was low-value, but because I had a good year and felt I deserved a commensurate gift.”

Lundy had stayed out of trouble, was doing his chores, and was doing well in school and at extracurricular activities.

“I was on the honor roll with a high GPA,” he said “I was captain of the football and tennis team. I was in student government as the senior class vice president, and I was doing well in ROTC. I also worked a few hours at K-Mart (to earn) spending money, which took some burden off of my mother.”

He just thought he deserved more. 

Then, the next year, his mother died.

Now her gift holds special meaning.

“That gift she gave me — the one I hated and resented — transformed into my favorite possession,” he said. “Although nothing changed about the gift itself, its sentimental value continued to grow over the years.”