Thursday, December 24, 2015

T'was the night before Christmas...and we were up putting together presents


Good Day World!

I'm turning the clock back to the Christmas of 1980 to share a story some parents can relate to:

T'was the night before Christmas and my wife and I were putting together presents. You know the kind I mean. They have murky instructions and are often missing key parts.

One example: we bought a toy box that had to be assembled. It came with a top, bottom, four sides, and numerous plastic bags with various nuts, bolts, and washers.

The instructions were in every language imaginable...except in English. The diagrams did not resemble the actual parts.

Pause for a moment. I am not mechanically minded. My wife, Shirley, is. We pretty much came to an agreement after this Christmas Eve she'd put the stuff together, and I would have to put my manly pride aside for the benefit of all!

Back to Christmas Eve of 1980...

For some reason nearly all the toys we got our three boys had to be assembled. It didn't take long before we started squabbling about interperating the instructions.

As the hours went by and most people slept, we toiled, and haggled, over the presents. Our tempers were frayed by the early morning hours when it became apparent we weren't going to get any sleep.

Looking back now I can admit that I was the problem that night. Shirley has told me since then, that she wondered why I didn't seem to "get things" that night.

At first light we finished and put a pot of coffee on and waited. It didn't take long. The two older boys came stumbling out with sleep still in their eyes (chubby little fists wiping it away) as they gasped.

The delight in their eyes. when they saw the presents under and around the tree, was worth our sleepless night! 

Shirley went and got our youngest (he was only six weeks old) and brought him out to watch the proceedings.

It was a Christmas to remember for a lot of reasons.

Time for me to walk on down the road...











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