Christmas...and other things....

 Christmas...and other things....

Hi Readers,

I'll spare you the usual excuses that I usually bang on with at the start of each post, so I'll get straight into it.

First of all, Happy Christmas to all of you that take time to read my posts, I really do hope that you had some great times with family and/or friends. And if you didn't, then I sincerely hope that good times are ahead for you.

Myself, I'm still navigating this Christmas thing on my own for the second time, and although I did spend it with two of our sons, there is still a massive hole that I know I'll never be able to fill in. Jen always rose to the occasion each Christmas and just pulled it off year after year while the rest of us just looked on in awe as she just managed to do everything so smoothly. The buying of presents, making sure that they were appropriate and suitable for each recipient. As for me, thank goodness for gift vouchers!!  And the wrapping of presents!! I'm sure our grandson has already been traumatised by Pop's efforts at wrapping presents and the ordeal that he has to go through to unwrap them. Sorry Henry!!!!!

Readers, the lead up to Christmas for me was difficult to some degree as I have been recovering from hand and shoulder surgery, so the reference to my wrapping looking like it has been done by a T-Rex is not far off the mark. It's amazing how one knee can be used to hold the other end of the sticky tape while then trying to cut the other end!

Speaking of gifts, while I did mention that there might have been a few gift cards given to the boys (okay, they each got one !) I'm still pretty confident that they were appropriate to each son.

However, the time and thought that was put into selecting some gifts for 3 year old Henry exceeded the time and effort that went into each of my assignments when I completed my Master's Degree a few years ago.

I was the old guy in the toy car section in Big W, K-Mart, Toyworld and any other toy shop in Bendigo. I was in there far longer than some of the displays on some days! But this is required if you want to get the right toys for the occasion. 

Jen's mum always gave the boys a Matchbox car or two on each visit. 

Overseas readers, look at the picture below to see what I mean by 'Matchbox cars"

So, when Henry was born it only made sense that Jen would continue the tradition with her grandchildren, and since her passing that responsibility is mine, a task that I take seriously, but with unbridled joy.

Along with a new bike for Christmas for my favourite little man, the obligatory 'Matchies' had to be given the moment I stepped through his door a week ago. I know Christmas was only a few days later, but 'Matchies' are just as important as that first hug each visit.

Imagine my surprise when I couldn't resist my self yesterday at the shops near his house and I bought him a few 'extra ones' that I thought he needed. As he unwrapped them I suddenly hear, "I've already got this tow truck Pop, but I can use it to tow the other one"

Dang!!! I bought something that I'd already given him before, but he still saw the upside of it.

It never fails to amaze me how such a simple act of spending just a few dollars on a couple of 'Matchies' can mean so much to a toddler.

And with a baby due in the next weeks I'm already on the lookout for new editions for Henry's new little brother.

It could have been so easy for me to wallow in self pity this Christmas that I was once again without Jen, but by spending it with our sons and a 3 year old enabled me to witness the pure and utter joy of Christmas as seen through the eyes of a toddler.

How many times was each present picked up from under the tree, only for Henry to be told "Put it back please Henry", which would happen with a big toss and crash as it was thrown back. We were all hoping that the contents were fairly sturdy and not fragile.

The night before Christmas Eve we went out and did the Christmas lights, which turned out to be a great decision as the next night was stormy and pouring rain.

Whereas Sam and Phoebe and myself were probably looking at the lights and thinking "Yeah, not bad", little Henry was mesmerised by all the sounds and sights around him. It was the first Christmas that he could really take in the ceremony and celebration, and to witness this and be a part of it with him was just so special.

The look on his face says it all.

As we all know, here in Australia it is Summer, and for my overseas Readers, I have flown from the southern part of our country near Melbourne, to the mid north near Brisbane.

Upon checking the weather at home each day I can see that we are having anything but a Summer down there, with cooler days and lots of rain, even floods. 

Up here on the Gold Coast it has been incredibly hot and humid, with almost nightly thunderstorms. Even the other night a massive storm uprooted thousands of trees and even destroyed a crane on a building site near here.

It has taken the best part of 4 days to carefully dismantle it, as the arm has flipped completely backwards. How the whole structure didn't collapse is amazing.

And Readers, while I'm still not overly mobile due to my ankle surgery 12 months ago, I've still been able to get out each day for a walk ( sometimes even twice a day) and this is what I am greeted with.

No wonder I am constantly thinking if I should, or could move up here to live.

I just need to get this body off the rack so that I can start to enjoy a life of greater mobility, something that I am patient with, but still utterly frustrated with.

This will be a relatively short post with no editing or checking for typos as my flight is nearly ready to board.

I did notice this week that there was a sudden surge in readers one night this week in the USA. If you were one of these Readers, I'd love to know where you are from, or what prompted you to log on to read.

Are you part of a reading group?

A cult?

Or just plain bored !!!!

Please feel free to hit the comments tab at the bottom of each post, I'd really love to chat with you.

Finally Readers, and a real highlight for me as I left this morning for the airport.

One of our other sons, Will, popped around to say goodbye and we managed to get a photo showing 3 generations of our family.

A real highlight in the last hour of my time up here. All that was missing was our other son Lachie, who is back in Bendigo.

As hard as it was to leave, I know I'll be back up here in a few weeks to celebrate the birth of their new son, something I look forward to with joy.

That's it for now Readers, everyone is getting on board, so that means so must I.

Another lot of self indulgent waffle, but as always I hope it has given you reason to reflect on your past few days. What "insignificant things" have you been up to over Christmas, that are in actuality, the most important things?

I hope that for you, like me, you are able to realise how lucky we really are to be loved, and to be able to love.

Until my next post, 

Cheers 😁