Fix-It Christmas...

A couple of things made this Christmas Eve unusual, namely, things that needed to be fixed. I was fortunate enough to be able to be home and with the family today. I've worked Christmas Eves in the past--I like not working them better.

The whole family worked together to get the house cleaned up. I think we did a pretty good job. Around 4 p.m. in the afternoon my name was called...the kitchen sink would not drain. Out came the trusty plumbers snake and we tried to clear the drain. It didn't work, so we ended up taking apart the pipes under the sink to clear things out. It wasn't too bad--kind of yucky--but not too bad.

The next fix it project centered around out new tree topper. The kids wanted to buy a new one (like most of you, our tree topper was decades old...). We told the kids we would buy one when they went on sale. This morning the kids went shopping with us and we found one on sale. The kids were ecstatic! They loved the fact it lit up. We plugged it in, put it atop the tree and cheers could be heard throughout the house. Sometime after Christmas dinner (an incredible success--thank you Pioneer Woman!), the kids looked at the tree and asked who unplugged the tree topper. No one had unplugged it--it died. I tried swapping out bulbs as I watched "It's A Wonderful Life" but it was no use. The cheap Christmas ornament was broken. I took it apart, used a line of lights already on the tree and put them in the topper. I had fixed it.

These physical things are easy to fix. And if fixing doesn't work, one can always buy a replacement. But what about those things that are no so easy to fix? What if the kids are bummed because they didn't get what they really wanted for Christmas? What if they get embarrassed when they hear what their friends got? It's hard sometimes for kids to understand when they're expecting something different. Those are the things that are not so easy to fix...

But tonight is Christmas Eve and I'm not thinking about these things. I'm sitting on the bathroom floor wrapping presents while "A Christmas Story" plays on TBS in the background, and pretty much everything is perfect. Merry Christmas, everyone! God bless and take care.