I don’t remember the first Christmas morning I awoke and was disappointed . I think it was once I realized that my parents orchestrated the entire Christmas process. The magic was gone. I was no longer grateful that Santa had traveled thousands of miles to bring me a toy his elves had made just for me.
Each Christmas season I debate with myself whether to climb the attic stairs, drag down the heavy boxes of decorations, and the tree, or not. Last year I decided I would not. But then my daughter told me that my grandson would have no tree if i did not go through the tedious process. The other grandparents, and my daughter were having no tree. So, I dutifully dragged full boxes from the attic, placed the decorations throughout the living room, set up the broken tree, and placed hundreds of ornaments upon it. I could not wait for the day after Christmas when I would get my living room back.
This year I decided to be Bah Humbug Dan! I would not go through the tiring process of decorating. So I did not. then, a few days before Christmas my daughter, the adult, pleaded with me to allow her to decorate my home. She promised to do this on her own and to remove the items the day after Christmas. I helped her get the boxes from the attic, then I left to smoke a cigar and go hog hunting with my friends. When I got home I was pleased with her results.
I placed all the obligatory gifts under the tree and invited my small family over to open them. When my five-year-old grandson walked into my house on Christmas day he stopped quickly, looking at the gifts under the tree. He said with a disappointed tone, “Santa just left a few things, huh?”
I wanted to say, “Well Sweetie, join the club. It’s not going to get any better.”
I sat back and watched them all open their gifts. They took their full stockings from the mantle, next to the empty one with my name on it. They each opened their gifts, thanking me and Santa for what they received. I got nothing. Nothing just for me. It was all just for them.
I guess when you get to be Santa you get to have nothing. I told myself, “Bah humbug on this!” Santa deserves something for all the hard work he does all year long to provide presents for all of the children. So…I took Santa shopping to get something just for him. And it became the best Christmas ever! It is better to give than to receive!
I boughtSanta a Leupold VXII 3×9 scope for his 30-06 (269.00). Then I bought a little something for him to carry on the sleigh, to be safer, you know! I gave him a Kahr PM9 9mm semi automatic pistol(715.00). He was very thankful for these gifts and had been so good all year long that i bought him a set of Trijicon laser sights and a Pearce magazine extension for the Kahr 9mm! (100.00) Then I bought him a Crimson Trace Laser to attach to his new pistol. (200.00)
He kept insisting that I had done too much and that none of these gifts were necessary. But, I prevailed! He has been such a blessing to my life all of these years! He flies that uncomfortable sleigh thousands of miles to slide down my chimney, eat two sugar cookies, and drink a glass of milk! It was the least I could do for him!
I love Santa. I love him so much that today I am going to enroll him in a concealed carry handgun class so he can legally carry the little pistol on the sleigh. Ho! Ho! Ho!
