By: Kevin
The long-anticipated day had arrived. Christmas Day. Tradition says we should open presents, eat ham, and visit with relatives. But we aren’t normal, and we like it that way.
Our Christmas morning started with a trip to Waffle House. We were actually surprised how many people were there when we pulled in the lot, but that didn’t phase us. We were on a mission to bless a stranger. We waited about 20 minutes for a table, ordered, ate, and conversed with our waitress which was doing a fantastic job keeping up with her section of the bustling diner full of people. She asked the kids if they had opened presents yet, and was quick to attend to any requests we had. She did a great job waiting on us. Once we paid our bill I walked back to the table, as our waitress was beginning to clear it, and handed her a tip well in excess of our total bill amount. She was so surprised and teared up a bit as she thanked us. She even gave the kids hugs before we left. After we left and were headed home in the van we explained what we had done to the kids and why. On a day many people focus on what gifts they are receiving, it felt great to give a gift to a total stranger. Whether our waitress was in NEED of the money, or if she was simply mandated to work Christmas morning is no matter. In either case, she was working, and we were able to bless her. The reaction and gratitude were real, and that is what mattered.
Once back home we opened a few gifts and the kids started playing with their newly acquired toys. We did not have a huge stack of gifts, in part to the fact that we had already celebrated Christmas with both sides of the family already, so these gifts were just from each other and not extended family. We did some laundry and relaxed for most of the rest of the day. In the evening Heather made a turkey roast in the Instant Pot, which was quite delicious, even if it didn’t go quite according to the recipe directions. We started watching “A Christmas Story” on TV, but grew tired of it and watched E.T. instead. Gotta love classic movies! E.T. is actually older than Heather or I, not that ‘The Christmas Story’ is any younger of a film.
Once the kids were in bed Heather and I got to spend a while sitting in front of my chiminea stocked with Cedar wood. The smell of cedar and the crackling of the fire were nice and relaxing. We didn’t spend any time with extended family or eat traditional Christmas Day fare, but we were perfectly ok with that. We spent the day together and happy.
The Ready Rovers 