Some assembly required, and a few other stories of Christmas - TopicsExpress

Some assembly required, and a few other stories of Christmas past... Christmas. It has been a magical day as far back as I can remember. I cannot think of any other single word that conjures up so much joy and happiness. When I was a child, it was agonizing anticipation. Unbridled excitement. A day unlike any other. When I grew up and had kids, it flipped - the focus became about their joy and happiness. But you know what? Its a different kind of magic now, but its magic just the same - and every bit as wonderful. Today is Christmas, but this year its different. This year we are without our dear Molly - my wife, my partner, my lover, my muse, my best friend, the mother of my beautiful and amazing children, the architect of Christmas past. Today was still magical, but it was a complex mosaic of happiness, sorrow, joy, grief, excitement, heartbreak. Tonight, as I lay in bed with a nasty cold and reflect on the day, I have decided to set aside my sadness and loneliness for a few moments to share some fond memories from Christmas past... There was a time - when the kids were younger - that Christmas Eve could just as easily have been called Some Assembly Required. Im not joking. Molly always pulled out all the stops in order to make Christmas as magical as possible. This usually meant a last minute frenzy of shopping, cooking, decorating and pulling it all together. My role, aside from the cooking, was to assemble things. This was usually an all night ordeal on Christmas Eve. While Molly wrapped and decorated and made everything just right, I built bicycles, desks, beds, bookcases, scooters, castles and god only knows what else. When the morning came, the kids would wake up and wildly unwrap all of their gifts. Once this mayhem had run its course, it was time for them to play with their booty. Despite not having slept since the night of the 23rd, Molly and I would then spend the next few hours building Lego sets, playing board games, reading stories, cooking and serving brunch, etc. Finally, the two of us would collapse and nap for several hours... On one such Christmas, when Jamie was still quite young, he only opened half of his presents before he wanted to start playing. We tried to convince him to finish opening gifts, but he wasnt having it. So he went off and played while the other kids finished unwrapping. When it was finally time for Molly and I to take our well-earned nap, the other half of Jamies presents sat there, still unopened. The following happened while we were asleep. It is reconstructed from eyewitness accounts (from the kids), with some embellishment on my part: While we slept, Lukas went over to the tree to get something. Jamies unopened presents caught his attention and he stopped in his tracks. For several minutes he stood there, an intense battle between good and evil raging inside his young brain. Finally, evil triumphed. He simply could not stand the fact that there were still unopened gifts. In a frenzy, he tore into them, not stopping until everything was open. I believe that at that moment he was overcome by remorse, but it was too late. When Molly and I finally came to, Maddy told us what had happened. We wanted to be angry. We wanted to reprimand Lukas. But the truth is, Jamie was not upset and the whole thing was just too absurd and amusing. So we half-heartedly chastised Lukas and let it pass into the lore of Christmas past... Finally, we come to last Christmas. As usual, none of the presents were wrapped when we put the kids to bed. When they had finally fallen asleep, Molly asked me to stay up and keep her company while she wrapped gifts. I was REALLY tired. I could see that she was too. It was well after midnight. Im not sure how I did this, but I managed to convince her that the kids wouldnt mind if the gifts werent wrapped. Somehow, she bought it and we went off to bed. Wake up, David - wake up. I awoke to Molly shaking me and insisting that I wake up. The kids are getting up - they cant go in there. The presents arent wrapped! she managed to blurt out in her panic. Before I could say anything, she had shushed us all out the door and told us to go for a hike. So, on Christmas morning, I led my brood of excited, extremely impatient children through the neighborhood and up to a nearby trail. After a brief hike, I called to let her know we would be back soon. You cant - Im not even close to being done! she shrieked. Back to the hike we went. We hiked for well over an hour before we were finally allowed to return. Ah, the memories... Thank you for so many beautiful memories, my dearest Molly. We had a good Christmas this year, but it just wasnt the same without you. Not even close. I miss you so much. I love you. Always. Sleep in heavenly peace...