The Absence of Krampus

Santa was good to us this year, as he is often expected to be, (despite a few white transgressions I've personally beheld in the household) delivering just about everything we had hoped for. A large part of the everything was being able to spend Christmas with the people we love, making it a true success to be recorded in the annals of historic celebrations. The only present we couldn't have was the presence of a few loved ones living afar, but fortunately, via web cam or, at least, Christmas spirit, we could be with everyone else...you know who you are!

..and a happy New Year.

Our kids, who are still very much kids, still see Christmas mostly as "the day to get presents", which makes sense, since one's true appreciation of together time kicks into high gear only in adulthood, usually right around the time when the family tree of origin becomes too large for the flower pot in which it was planted. Even still, under the materialistic pretenses of toy wishing, it was enjoyed thoroughly; maybe even three quarters to the extent of Santa's jolly; and that's an awful lot.

Among Amelia's favorites were a kitchen set, which includes an oven, cookware and knives that can cut through toy bread like a lightsaber through warm krylonium: and, her other favorite, a Dora the Explorer rocking horse, which looks to be more fun than most of the playground equipment I remember riding on as a kid : I know what you're thinking, but the weight limit only goes up to 45 pounds, so you might be just a tad too big. Sorry.

Elijah has been darting all around the house with his new spy-gear equipment in his quest to become the next James Bond...by the way, he likes his chocolate milk shaken , not stirred. Most of his lego sets have taken on more of the form of Star Wars vehicles and less of giant plastic puddles of pointed pokey pieces, to Elijah's (and Dad's) delight; though Elijah admitted to me that he enjoys the part of putting them together best. Such is life. All fun rides come to an end, but I suppose you just have to get back in line and wait for the next one to start.

Speaking of fun rides, Zach, too, has been enjoying the spoils of Amelia's high tech Dora hobby horse. Zach rides that pinto as if it were lightning streaking across the western planes in search of the promised land of gold and tasty snacks. Just this morning, I could have sworn I heard him hollering yee-haw. Yep, it's that fun...but remember folks, before you start making travel arrangements to come over to our house, there's a 45 pound weight limit.

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A man and his seven year old son were laying on the couch on Christmas day among mounds of wrapping paper and carelessly torn open boxes.

"Did you have a good Christmas, son?"

"Yeah, it was pretty good."

"Just pretty good?" Dad inquired.

"Well, it's just that," the son began whispering, "last night after I went to bed, I thought I heard a noise in the living room and tiptoed down stairs to see if Santa was here."

"So, what did you find when you got there?" asked Dad

"It wasn't Santa."

"No? Who was it"

"It was you, Dad. You were standing next to the fireplace, and you were eating the cookies off the mantel that I had left for Santa."

"Oh, I see." The man paused, unsure how to proceed.

After a long hesitation, the son whispered pensively, "I've been thinking a lot about what I saw last night, and I think I might have figured something out."

"Really? What did you figure out, son?" His dad, at full attention, perked up in his seat eager to hear his son's revelation.

"Well", he said, "We probably could have gotten a lot more presents if you weren't such a jerk."