Christmas Memories

It's been a good Christmas.

I honestly wasn't expecting to say those words this year, but it's true. Christmas seems to bring out the best in people, and create the best memories of our too-fleeting lives. A great example of the best that could happen is the cease-fire incident of World War I that started in Ypres and moved throughout the entire front line of the war. (To read more about that, click here.)

From a personal perspective, my finest Christmas memory is now twelve years old. It was on Christmas in 1996 that I asked Allyson to be my wife. She said yes, for some reason, by the way...that's what makes it a good memory.

But this year comes close to matching that one, and I'm going to tell you why--but it requires some backstory.

About two months back, I was working at Dr. NO's doing the things that I normally do: ringing up customers, sorting and filing comics, and that sort of thing. At some point, my wedding band fell off my hand. Pretty much everyone at the store looked for it, as well as some people who just wanted to help out, and even though I appreciate all the effort that everyone put into the search, sadly the results were negative. My ring was gone.

I was crushed. That ring had tremendous sentimental value to me, and not just because I was given it on my wedding day. At the time of our wedding, my wife was unemployed, and couldn't afford to buy me a ring. I told her not to worry, that at some point we would have the money and until then I could just wear a simple hematite band that we found at a nature store. She was sad, but understanding. Of course, she also wasn't content to leave things there. She took her hunting rifle (yes, my wife used to have a hunting rifle) and went from pawn shop to pawn shop, looking to trade it for a ring. She didn't have the success that she hoped for, as her rifle was not in demand and there wasn't enough value to get a ring. That is, until she stopped at a pawn shop up in Kennesaw and was again turned down--and she broke down crying. The shop owner asked what was wrong, and she told him her story. With a smile, he pulled out a large bag of rings and told her to take her pick. At our wedding, she surprised me with that ring--as anyone that attended our wedding is sure to remember.

But that ring went away, and I was devastated.

Then, about four weeks ago, I canceled Christmas at our house. Once again, Allyson is unemployed--like far too many people today--and this time is worse than ever before. We are struggling to survive, and we quite literally don't know what the future holds for us. We have been forced to make some dramatic decisions in our lives, and are facing a greater change than we ever have. Our future is uncertain, and our stress is at an amazing level, but we cling to each other for strength through all of this--and today she reminded me why.

Once again, Allyson took to the pawn shops, carrying with her this time a wide array of jewelry that she no longer decided she needed, determined to find me a ring to replace the one that I lost. She didn't have as much success this time around, as the economic situation has hit even pawn shops--they couldn't offer her enough to pay for a ring. Once again dejected, she turned to the most unlikely of all places: the mall. Wandering through in hopes to find me a small gift for the holidays--even though we told each other "no presents!"--her eye was caught by a kiosk that was displaying men's wedding bands. And when she looked at the price, she was stunned. It was well within her own price range, mainly due to the simple fact that it wasn't gold or even silver--it was made of stainless steel.

So, this morning when we got up for the day, and wandered down to our not-decorated living room we both surprised each other with a couple of small presents (yeah, I broke the rule, too). I got her a couple of books, a calander and a Wonder Woman hoodie that I knew she wanted from Dr. NO's. She gave me a small tin filled with a spice blend that she knew I loved. And then she told me to open it.

Inside was a brilliant piece of shining metal. A new wedding band that she bought me to replace the one that I lost. I put it on, and it fit perfectly. I was in shock then, and am still a little choked up writing this now. I hadn't made much of losing the ring, as I didn't want her to feel guilty about me not having one, but since it disappeared, I have felt...wrong. As though a part of me was missing. Now, I look down at my left hand as I type this, and a gleaming piece of metal shines back up at me.

A stainless steel wedding band might not be the ideal thing to most, but for me, there is nothing more beautiful than that chunk of metal that is resting on my figure. Except, of course, for the woman that bought it for me. That might sound a little overly dramatic and sickly romantic, but it is really how I feel right now. Christmas was saved for me, by a simple piece of common metal, brought to me in a very uncommon way.

In the grand scheme of things, this doesn't compare with the event at Ypres that I mentioned earlier, but to me, at this moment, it is one of the greatest events in the history of the holiday.

I hope that all of you have had a wonderful Christmas day, whether you choose to celebrate the actual holiday or not. There is a magic to this time of year that truly does create memories, and this year it has created one that I will never forget.

Happy Holidays

Sure, it's been about three months since I posted, but that doesn't mean that I've been sitting around doing nothing. In fact, I've been doing so much that I haven't really had time to post here. But that changes today! ...well, I guess that was obvious...

I want to talk about Christmas. Not the holiday itself, but the joyous act of gift giving. To the point where I have decided that I want to post...

The Top Gifts I Am NOT Giving This Year!

Gift That Inspired This List

That would be the Zen Moving Dolphin. I saw this wonder at Macy's earlier today, and it took my breath away. Not in a good way, either. This magical monument consists of several pieces of plastic, carefully molded to look like a dolphin when put together--think of a dolphin that has been cut into layers and then reassembled. The beautiful part of this sculpture is that the pieces undulate up and down to mimic the motion of a dolphin swimming. And you can have it for only $80.00. Wow. Who DOESN'T want that under their tree?...

Gift That I Wanted To Get My WIfe That Would Have Pissed Off PETA

Belk's at Town Center has a fur department. They have an absolutely gorgeous shaved mink coat that would have looked spectacular on Allyson. Alas, though, I didn't have the $3000.00 it would have taken to bring the thing home. Here's hoping for that Christmas Lottery miracle!

Gift That I Would Love To Get Everyone Who Wears Glasses

I have laser eyes now. About two months back I went and had my eyes sliced open and then zapped with a machine that made it so I no longer have to wear glasses. It's an amazing thing. It is wonderful to be able to see things with my own eyes, instead of having to rely on a piece of plastic to see...well, anything. I was pretty much legally blind before hand, and now I have 20/15 vision. Technology is a miracle. It's also expensive as hell, so, again, I can't afford it. But I recommend it to anyone that might be thinking about it. (I saw Dr. K at Piedmont Better Vision. They have financing.)

Gift That Everyone Asks About But I Couldn't Find

Peace on Earth. I looked everywhere, honest. Nobody has it in stock. Go figure.

Gift That Nobody Should Ever Have, Ever. I Mean It.

A cystourethroscopy. You don't want it, honest. I had one last week. It's no fun. I won't go into details, but suffice it to say that when they say "your clinching, can you relax?", it's something easier to ask than do. Oh, and I'm fine. The results were great and I'm okay.

Gift That I Want To Give My Team

Anything at this point would be an improvement. The Atlanta Falcons have had the single worst twelve month span of any professional football team in history. Everything that could have turned against them, has, and it looks like a long road to recovery. Unfortunately there isn't much that I can give them except support, which I will do every week. So, I guess I am giving them something, after all...

So, for today, that is my list. If I think of other things to add to it, I will. But I do want to give one thing to everyone taking the time to read this, especially after me not posting for about three months:

Merry Christmas!