Monday, December 18, 2006
One More Week/ and the Best Christmas Ever
Well it's almost here. The anticipation is building. Last minutes thoughts of what you should get someone.
I always do that. I spend the entire month of December thinking, oh that would be a cool gift, and of I run to find it. I could spend three whole months shopping with the intention of buying gifts and not find a thing I would want to give someone. Let me sit awhile over a cup of coffee, drive around a bit, or be out in the barn shoveling 'paca beans, and I'll come up with the perfect gift for someone.
I woke up Friday morning knowing exactly what I was going to buy my wife. Mind you had have already gotten her the perfect gift already. As a matter of fact, that gift took 5 people in 4 countries to locate. And it WILL be a perfect gift. But, there's always these ideas. Oh and yeah I went out Saturday and got her the "Other Perfect Gift".
My daughter is getting harder and harder to buy for. Not just because she is getting older. Because of a "special" gift I give her each year. It has been getting harder and harder to find it. I mentioned once that I thought I would find something else for her, maybe she was getting too old for it now. I was promptly told that she looks forward to it every year. So, I guess instead of being too old, it may mean more to her each year knowing that it is getting harder to find.
My son, what a great young man. He has the heart of a giant. I asked him last month, "what do you want for Christmas?" He tells me, "Well I need some jeans." What 11 year old tells his dad he "needs jeans" for Christmas. We are by no means "wealthy" family, but we have a roof and food. My son, young Mr. Practical, would like to make sure all else is taken care of. I'm not trying to kid myself or anyone else, if there came a time when there was nothing under the tree, he would be hurt like any kid, but ... I think he would pick up whatever he had and give his Mom a hug and an I love you. He will be a big man among men one day.
Myself? Well ... I always get something special from them all. I get great, wonderful memories. Oh sure I get gifts too and I'm just as big a kid as anyone when I open them. I always seem to guess what my wife has gotten for me. Except one year. That was the year she bought my a digital camera. I had no idea that time. I'm sure it can be upsetting, and really I do not try to guess. It's just sometimes, there's the package, she asked what I would like. Right size, right shape, ... yep I know what it is. Now there is a bright side and a dark side to this for me .. First I will get something I would really like. Second ... I BETTER tell her something I would really like. From my son I always expect a flashlight. I don't always get one but I look for it. You can never have too many flashlights and I never think of buying them myself unless I need one at the time. So ... It's an understanding between us, I would always like to have another flashlight.
There is another story behind the flashlight present also. My dad always needed them too. So, I always bought him one for Christmas. I guess it's my way of feeling like my Dad if I get one now. Even at 42 I still want to fill that man's shoes. It's not one of those, "I try and I try but I can never be good enough for him" stories. It's a "My Dad is such a GREAT man I could never completely fill his shoes. But I will try to do my best to make him proud."
I promised that I would tell the story of the Best Christmas ever. I suppose I am running out of time to do it, so now is as good as ever.
We lived in Southwest Arkansas at the time. About 4 miles outside Wickes, Arkansas. It was our first Christmas after leaving Indiana and we had snow. A pretty good snow for SW Arkansas too. It was about 3 or 4 inches.
Well when we moved from Indiana, we had the car and everything we could fit in a small U-Haul Trailer. There just wasn't room for all our stuff, so thing larger things got left behind. One of those things was my bike. Now my bike was a beat up bike frame with decent tires and brakes. It had been through some pretty hard times but still rode great. My brother had rode it for a while when we were younger and I was too small to reach the peddles. So when I was big enough and it was mine now. That made it the greatest bike ever. But, it had to stay behind.
We moved at the beginning of summer and lived out in the county, so I spent a lot of time running around woods and fields.
Now came Christmas. Like I said it was a pretty good Christmas that year. My dad worked hard and provided very well for us. What I remember of that year I got a little pool table that was a big hit with all my friends from school, but what I has asked for was not under the tree. (well the pool table wasn't either but that was a gift from my mother and I got a whole other story for you on that one.)
But, it was good Christmas. A while after opening all our presents my Dad told me to come help him unload the truck. I didn't know what he had in the truck, it was before we started heating completely with wood so I had no idea. But, if Dad said, "come help me with", you went. And you did what he wanted you too. Not because he would whip you. My Dad never whipped me. But because he might. And no one wanted to be on the receiving end of a whipping from him. He wasn't a mean man. He was a man that you knew you should respect. You had to. Not because he told you too, you just couldn't help but do it. But, I'm getting off the subject here.
I followed Dad out to the truck and he dropped the tailgate. Inside was something under some blankets. He told me to jump in there and pull the blankets off so we could get "it" out. Not knowing what he had in there I jumped in pulled the blankets back, and there was the best looking red bike I had ever seen. It wasn't at all like my old one. No this one looked like a "Cross-country" bike. It had suspension on the front forks. A black seat that looked like a motorcycle's. I couldn't believe my eyes. I had only ever seen one "new" bike outside a store. That was Todd's 5-speed that lived down the rode from me in Indiana. This one was even better than his.
Dad reached in and helped me pull the bike out of the truck and then stood in the cold and snow for the next 20 minutes watching me ride it around the yard.
That's the Best Christmas ever,
Merry Christmas and God Bless to all,
Dae
I always do that. I spend the entire month of December thinking, oh that would be a cool gift, and of I run to find it. I could spend three whole months shopping with the intention of buying gifts and not find a thing I would want to give someone. Let me sit awhile over a cup of coffee, drive around a bit, or be out in the barn shoveling 'paca beans, and I'll come up with the perfect gift for someone.
I woke up Friday morning knowing exactly what I was going to buy my wife. Mind you had have already gotten her the perfect gift already. As a matter of fact, that gift took 5 people in 4 countries to locate. And it WILL be a perfect gift. But, there's always these ideas. Oh and yeah I went out Saturday and got her the "Other Perfect Gift".
My daughter is getting harder and harder to buy for. Not just because she is getting older. Because of a "special" gift I give her each year. It has been getting harder and harder to find it. I mentioned once that I thought I would find something else for her, maybe she was getting too old for it now. I was promptly told that she looks forward to it every year. So, I guess instead of being too old, it may mean more to her each year knowing that it is getting harder to find.
My son, what a great young man. He has the heart of a giant. I asked him last month, "what do you want for Christmas?" He tells me, "Well I need some jeans." What 11 year old tells his dad he "needs jeans" for Christmas. We are by no means "wealthy" family, but we have a roof and food. My son, young Mr. Practical, would like to make sure all else is taken care of. I'm not trying to kid myself or anyone else, if there came a time when there was nothing under the tree, he would be hurt like any kid, but ... I think he would pick up whatever he had and give his Mom a hug and an I love you. He will be a big man among men one day.
Myself? Well ... I always get something special from them all. I get great, wonderful memories. Oh sure I get gifts too and I'm just as big a kid as anyone when I open them. I always seem to guess what my wife has gotten for me. Except one year. That was the year she bought my a digital camera. I had no idea that time. I'm sure it can be upsetting, and really I do not try to guess. It's just sometimes, there's the package, she asked what I would like. Right size, right shape, ... yep I know what it is. Now there is a bright side and a dark side to this for me .. First I will get something I would really like. Second ... I BETTER tell her something I would really like. From my son I always expect a flashlight. I don't always get one but I look for it. You can never have too many flashlights and I never think of buying them myself unless I need one at the time. So ... It's an understanding between us, I would always like to have another flashlight.
There is another story behind the flashlight present also. My dad always needed them too. So, I always bought him one for Christmas. I guess it's my way of feeling like my Dad if I get one now. Even at 42 I still want to fill that man's shoes. It's not one of those, "I try and I try but I can never be good enough for him" stories. It's a "My Dad is such a GREAT man I could never completely fill his shoes. But I will try to do my best to make him proud."
I promised that I would tell the story of the Best Christmas ever. I suppose I am running out of time to do it, so now is as good as ever.
We lived in Southwest Arkansas at the time. About 4 miles outside Wickes, Arkansas. It was our first Christmas after leaving Indiana and we had snow. A pretty good snow for SW Arkansas too. It was about 3 or 4 inches.
Well when we moved from Indiana, we had the car and everything we could fit in a small U-Haul Trailer. There just wasn't room for all our stuff, so thing larger things got left behind. One of those things was my bike. Now my bike was a beat up bike frame with decent tires and brakes. It had been through some pretty hard times but still rode great. My brother had rode it for a while when we were younger and I was too small to reach the peddles. So when I was big enough and it was mine now. That made it the greatest bike ever. But, it had to stay behind.
We moved at the beginning of summer and lived out in the county, so I spent a lot of time running around woods and fields.
Now came Christmas. Like I said it was a pretty good Christmas that year. My dad worked hard and provided very well for us. What I remember of that year I got a little pool table that was a big hit with all my friends from school, but what I has asked for was not under the tree. (well the pool table wasn't either but that was a gift from my mother and I got a whole other story for you on that one.)
But, it was good Christmas. A while after opening all our presents my Dad told me to come help him unload the truck. I didn't know what he had in the truck, it was before we started heating completely with wood so I had no idea. But, if Dad said, "come help me with", you went. And you did what he wanted you too. Not because he would whip you. My Dad never whipped me. But because he might. And no one wanted to be on the receiving end of a whipping from him. He wasn't a mean man. He was a man that you knew you should respect. You had to. Not because he told you too, you just couldn't help but do it. But, I'm getting off the subject here.
I followed Dad out to the truck and he dropped the tailgate. Inside was something under some blankets. He told me to jump in there and pull the blankets off so we could get "it" out. Not knowing what he had in there I jumped in pulled the blankets back, and there was the best looking red bike I had ever seen. It wasn't at all like my old one. No this one looked like a "Cross-country" bike. It had suspension on the front forks. A black seat that looked like a motorcycle's. I couldn't believe my eyes. I had only ever seen one "new" bike outside a store. That was Todd's 5-speed that lived down the rode from me in Indiana. This one was even better than his.
Dad reached in and helped me pull the bike out of the truck and then stood in the cold and snow for the next 20 minutes watching me ride it around the yard.
That's the Best Christmas ever,
Merry Christmas and God Bless to all,
Dae
# posted by Daeoin Arlson @ 10:04 AM 
