Christmas Accomplished

Uhhhh...hellooo?? Anybody still reading this??

It's been so long since I've posted that I'm wondering how many people are left checking this blog. I'm sorry for not getting back to you all sooner. It has been a crazy Christmas.... but a really great one.

I didn't write anything leading up to Christmas Day because I was busy trying to get everything wrapped up at work. I was also working frantically on my lines for the PCC Christmas play that I've been telling you about. The play went well. Actually, it went great! It was just a totally amazing team effort and everyone did exactly what they were supposed to do, exactly when they were supposed to do it. Without everyone's commitment to the team and everyone working hard together, we wouldn't have had anywhere near the success that we did.

To be honest, I was nervous about the whole play thing. Even now, I am pretty darn surprised I managed to get through two shows without missing a single line. I definitely had plenty of difficulties to overcome to do that. First of all, I have terrible memory. I mean, I'm like that guy in the movie "Memento" who, because of a traumatic brain injury, wakes up every morning and has no idea who he is, where he is, or what he's supposed to be doing. To overcome my memory problem, I reverted back to my old remedy.... flashcards. I had all my lines on flashcards that now look worn and discolored from all the practicing I did. Another issue that came up was my right middle finger. I broke the tendon that holds up my fingertip the Saturday before Christmas. (Didn't break a leg... broke my finger instead.) So, for the next six weeks, I have to wear this shiny metal finger splint. Hopefully it will heal in six weeks. If not, I'll need to have surgery which I'm sure will be fun. At least I was ok to take the splint off for the show. My super shiny/flashy splint might have been a minor distraction.

The last major obstacle I had in getting ready for the play was my voice. Two days before the play, I woke up and couldn't speak..... not a word. I went to the doctor and found out I had "Viral Laryngitis". Believe me, I begged the doctor to help me. When he said there really wasn't anything he could do, I even asked if he could just give me a shot in the neck with some steroids or something. Alas, I had to go and tell my friend Sandy who was directing the show. Needless to say, her eyes got a little wide when I told her and I think she believed I was joking at first. Rehearsing with my throat like that definitely wasn't fun. When I wasn't rehearsing, I was whispering to everyone else and chugging Motrin like it was going out of style. All I can say is the rest, the Motrin, and all the prayers definitely did the trick. My voice was good to go for the two shows and only started to fall apart right at the end of the second one.

Later Christmas Eve was spent with friends and we got home in time to put Colin to bed, get Santa Claus set up, and get to sleep ourselves. Then a wonderful thing happened. Colin slept late on Christmas morning! A Christmas miracle! (he doesn't sleep late) Daleen and I enjoyed a moment to ourselves before we went in and woke him up.

To say Colin liked his Christmas toys is an understatement. He got a lot of stuff, but not too much. We learned our lesson this time. Last year (his first Christmas) we went completely overboard and got him way too many presents. He had so many new toys he actually became quite overwhelmed and frustrated. He actually had a gift request this year which surprised me. I asked him on Dec 22nd, "Who is coming on Christmas Eve?", and he replied, "Santa Claus". Then I asked him what he would like for Santa to bring and he smiled and replied, "A camera." Apparently the child care section at our YMCA has a toy camera that he has been playing with a lot ever since we got our awesome family Christmas photos taken by the extraordinarily talented (and very patient) Sarah Brawley. So, he got his camera and has been taking pictures non-stop. The camera actually works. The pictures are extremely low resolution (1MP) but the camera is extremely rugged and made for a 3yr old. Of course I have tried to help teach him how to use it, but it has been more fun watching him try and figure it out on his own. He's getting the hang of it. By the way, his other favorite toy is a toy garbage truck that even came with a little plastic pile of trash. Photography vs. Trash Collection..... a kind of weird yin-yang sort of thing, but it's his world, we just live in it.

Other than that, we spent a lot of time with friends and family. Ate too much. And just enjoyed some seriously needed downtime.

Then yesterday was Boxing Day. It's a sort of English holiday that they also celebrate in South Africa where Daleen is from. Well, in SA they now call it the Day of Goodwill. But, she still regards it as Boxing Day. Traditionally, it is the day you're supposed to go out and give to the needy and to your employees. The idea is, you've been blessed during Christmas and then you're supposed to go out and spread it around. I like that idea. I once asked her why they call it Boxing Day. She rolled her eyes and said, "Silly man, It's the day you pack everything away and put all of your Christmas stuff back in it's boxes." Ahhhhh.... Another good reason to celebrate Boxing Day.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas. Whatever it was you really wanted for Christmas, a particular gift, downtime, time with family and friends, a call from an old friend or relative, whatever it was, I hope you got it. For me, it was family time and giving back something to my community. On Christmas morning, in the middle of opening his gifts, Colin stopped what he was doing, stood up, and walked over and picked up a present that was for Daleen. He took it over to her and simply said, "Merry Christmas Momma" and gave it to her and then gave her a hug. She looked at me, but I never taught him to do that. It was a little thing, but he figured it out on his own. For a moment, he wanted to stop and give a gift to someone else. That's big, especially for a 2 yr old. I think he gets it.......