The Christmas Gift that Brain Will Remember Forever [VIDEO]

During the holiday season, it's hard not to think back to Christmas past. Whether or not you got everything on your Christmas list, there probably is one gift you remember more than any other. One that made you jump and shout with joy. A gift that truly surprised you. For me, there is one Christmas memory that stands above all others. Let's take a trip back to 1985.

I guess I consider myself lucky to have grown up in the age of video games. My kids take for granted the fact that they've just always been there. But I grew up in a day and age where they didn't exist! I remember when we got our first Atari and played games like Pong and Tank. But then in the mid-1980s, a little game system called Nintendo hit the shelves.

In 1985 I would have been nine years old, my brother five. I remember dreaming of getting a Nintendo for Christmas. But I was also a realist. Most kids growing up on small farms during the 1980s didn't get a brand-new gaming system for Christmas. But that year, my parents somehow managed to get one and did they ever surprise us at Christmas?

I don't remember a lot else about that Christmas. I remember my brother and I opening our other gifts and being happy and grateful for what we received. And as we sat there amidst the wrapping paper and boxes, one of my parents stated that they had left one present in the closet. Out came a black garbage bag. They didn't even wrap it. My brother and I looked in and to our amazement saw a Nintendo Entertainment System. There was yelling, screaming, jumping, and probably a somersault or two! The Brainard brothers were going to be playing Super Mario Brothers!

As an adult, I look back on that memory and chuckle at my brother and I's reaction to the gift. Thus began our obsession with video games that continues to this day. But now that I'm older, I realize that it doesn't have to be some big, fancy, expensive gift to bring you joy at Christmas. The joy is in giving. The fun is watching someone react to a gift they didn't know they were getting. And the blessing is having that memory to carry with you forever.

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