So how did you ring in the new year? We stayed up until at least 10:30 or 11:00. We watched a few back episodes of Grimm and explained the show's concept to Josh and Christi. We also went through the idea behind Once upon a Time for them, but we didn't have any back issues of that one on our DVR thing. Josh did have a few sparklers that someone gave him, so he took his boys and Cailyn out back to let them actually participate in the wondrous light show. Well, Zak watched from a safe distance and Caleb sat inside and watched out the window while Cailyn showed them how it was done. What can I say? Her Dad's a fire fighter.
I guess it's time to do a quick run-through of the great gifts I received. The one that takes all honors for Most Unusual has to go to the snot and ear wax making paraphernalia I got. It has already provided some fun with the grandchildren times. And the Captain America mask and shield that came with it (not to mention the movie) makes me pretty cool for an old guy. One that looks intriguing but that I haven't played with yet is the digital coin-counting jar. I guess it has some kind of supernatural ability to recognize what coin you put in, and then it adds up your total so you can watch your progress toward that big Disneyworld adventure.
Kudos to everyone who gave us money or some kind of edible goodies. Those ran the gamut from pumpkin jelly to brownies, cookies, muffins, and a chocolate chip cake. Mom is still working her way through that stash. Jay gave me a reprint of a picture from when we were kids. Ah, nostalgia. A classic cartoon DVD will give me a chance to try to overcome my tendency to snooze whenever animation hits the screen. And in a stroke of genius, accompanying the cartoons were two of those puzzles made out of bent steel. I can try to get them apart while the cartoons are on, thus keeping me awake longer. Or I can separate the salvaged socket wrench sockets out in the garage and install them into my new socket separator, quite a puzzle in itself. And all the while I can wear my Muppets t-shirt with Animal on the front. And after I figure out the puzzles (!?!), I can read through my new comic book Bible, thus completing my journey into my past. Can it get any better than that? Well, I could challenge someone to play me in one of the two games I got. One is a number/dice game that we saw at a crafts fair. The other is a 3-D version of that game where you get four in a row. In this one you shoot little round discs toward the game board. Or each other. Lots of possibilities for this one. That's why I bought it for myself.
I have been asked several times about the carving for the year. That gift-giving exchange between Chris and I was fun and quite romantic. Since Christmas Day was on a Sunday, I was at my desk getting ready for church. She dropped a small gift on the desk and said, merry Christmas. It was candy corn. Nice. So I got up and handed her a gift. It was Father Rhinoceros from the Christmas Eve story. Surprised, she said it wasn't what she expected. I asked what she did expect, and she said, "a star." Of course she would think that, since we had been talking about losing our original one. I said, "Wait right there a second." I ran over to the tree and selected a second gift. And she opened … a carved star. Talk about being on the same page after 36 years of marriage. We exchanged a few more gifts, blue jeans. More candy corn. She opened the book I got for her to read – John Grisham's newest. And I opened the book she got for me to read – John Grisham's newest. 36 years of marriage. We'll take one of those back and get the final installment in that series about the dragons. She seemed to like the Precious Moments music box of Santa kneeling at the manger, and I can't wait to read the other book she got. It's a time travel thing about the Kennedy assassination by Stephen King. And Chris is excited about enjoying the pictures of the grandkids.
Of course our favorite gift of all was the time spent with the family. Jachin said it best on their trip to Sea World. At one of the shows Sesame Street's Elmo was talking about what Christmas really means. Jachin listened, then he astutely discerned an obvious mistake, "Dad, Christmas is about Jesus." Yes it is, Jachin. Yes, it is.
Isaiah 43:18-21 says, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise."
Father, move us on into the New Year with the right perspective on what really matters. You. Amen.
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