We had parents with my godparents-in-law today. (Just go with it.) My godsisters-in-law (just go with it) were there, and so were their husbands. And all of the god-nieces-in-law and god-nephews-in-law. (Again, just go with it.) These are long, long, deep family ties.
My godparents-in-law met at my in-laws wedding. The godfather has been my father-in-law’s best friend for seven decades. The godmother went to nursing school with my mother-in-law. So each is the godparents of the other’s children. And my wife and the two god sisters basically grew up alongside one another.
When I first started coming to this Christmas party there were just 10 people. Now, it’s 15 people, including the children aged 4-to-16.
The kids are great. The next to youngest was sent to school one day with Christmas money and a shopping list, because this is how we’re teaching commercialism these days, I guess. We were on his list, for some reason. Only, he didn’t come home with any presents, or any money. He bought our gifts, and then gave them away to his friends, and the money, too. He wanted them to be happy.
That was the best present of the year, honestly.
So this sweet-hearted boy got sent back to the school store again, new list, more money, and instructions to bring the presents home. And don’t you know what I found in the bottom of my little gift bag were the best presents of the year. Two years in a row he’s bought me something. It was a little toy last year. He saw this thing and thought of me for some reason and he was so excited and proud. This year, the present was from him and his little sister. I looked down and could see it was a drink, so I pulled out this bottle, made a big show of reading the tea label and was very excited.
This, he said, was more from him, and not his little sister.
I reached back in the back and pulled out this bag of pretzels. Again, I made the big evaluation, and deployed the charmed reaction. How did you know? These are going to be so good!
This, he said, was actually more from him, and not so much his little sister.
He’s six.
Meanwhile, his sister is opening presents and holding them all up like she’s auditioning for The Lion King, or just won the greatest history of sport. Every gift a triumph.
We’re trying to talk this particular Christmas party down to just getting gifts for the kids, because the rest of us are impossible, but the 6-year-old is shopping for the olds.
In a few days, I’ll send his mother a picture of me eating these pretzels and drinking this tea — because, somehow, he knows I like tea — and brag on him some more.
I made the mistake of asking one of the kids how many Christmas parties they had been a part of this year. This one, today, was party number five. There were two more to go.
Nobody else was getting pretzels and tea, though. Just me.
