Enjoying the simple

When asked by one set of grandparents, "What was your favorite present you received at your other grandparents' house?" Micah responded pretty quickly, "The remote-controlled car!" Oh yes, it's quite the sight to see that futuristic car zip and zoom, flashing its multicolored LEDs and flipping its front wheels like an airplane propeller; not the easiest to control, but for wild and crazy tricks not unlike 80's break dancing, it’s a great present for a rambunctious 4-year-old.

 

As the inquisitive grandparents moved on to Grace, my mind flashed back to the present-opening scene. My family had abandoned any attempt at order, giving the kids the green light in tearing open their treasures. And after observing from my rocking chair only a few minutes, it was soon clear that Grace was not keeping pace with the amassed pile of presents taller than herself. In fact, she was showing no progress at all. Instead she was bumbling around the room with toy broom and dust pan still 90% covered in wrapping paper, saying "Seep, seep, seep…" She protested my party-stopping attempts to unwrap her toy broom, which she was obviously already enjoying to its fullest.

 

For the next 10-15 minutes, I and one of Grace's cousins, tried our best to distract her from the broom long enough to get another present or two opened, but without fail she returned for another round of  "tidying up." In the end, the excitement of the broom was won over by a play stove top and plastic veggies Velcro-ed down the middle for easy "cutting." But I'm sure that broom and dust pan will see many more hours of play down the road!

 

I love to watch my kids enjoying rather simple things. The same scene played out at the other grandma's house. Grace had watched Micah open a huge gift bag and among all the goodies inside, she locked her mind on two, a backpack and chapstick. When it was her turn to open her equally large gift bag, her one-track mind was disinterested in anything else until she found her backpack and most importantly, her chapstick. Upon finding it, she jumped to her feet  with her fist in the air, "My chapstick! My chapstick!" Enjoying the simple.

 

The Christmas season is full of extravagance. Fancy decorations, fancy meals, and fancy gifts have taken over the season such that some of our American colleagues working overseas have vowed to never plan a furlough during the Holidays. Andrea and I aren't there. Why? I hope it is that we, like Grace, can look past the extravagance and find enjoyment in the simple things – worshipping on Christmas Eve at our home churches, drinking spiced cider, relaxing in the glow of twinkling lights, watching (ie. refereeing) our kids play with cousins, or rehearsing old family memories and inside jokes over games of pool, darts and cards. To be honest, spending Christmas in warm Gesas isn't all that bad, but it's these "simple" things that we miss most.