Brett & Megan

Before the year ends we would like to wish everyone a happy New Year. If you received a card, we apologize for the oversize stamp. We made up cards from the same service last year and as I was designing it this year, I thought ‘why not go bigger with the stamp?’. Little did I realize the stamp would be so big for the card it would  have to be turned sideways so as not to block text. One of my several technological mishaps. – brett

We are usually well prepared for the holidays and this year was not much different. Megan purchased most of the family gifts well in advance and we mostly avoided the crowds. However, just by chance, we were running low on household supplies with about 4 days before Christmas and realized we had to bite the bullet and head to Target (no way I’m paying $4/box for Kleenex at the regular grocery store). Though we really did not want to go near the retail areas this reluctant trip turned out to be a Christmas opportunity.

We were prepared for the worst and had a game plan – I would drop Megan off and she would get a head start while I park the car. On the way in we noticed someone sitting outside of the mall parking lot at our closest Target. They appeared to be sitting on the sidewalk, bundled up in dirty clothes, and selling something. All Megan could read off the cardboard sign they held was “need a sleeping bag”. We didn’t think much of it. Sadly, this time of year is prone to lots of crime in our area. Last year right before Christmas, a guy was rummaging through the bed of our neighbor’s pickup truck. I asked him what he was doing and he gave me a story about being out of gas and looking for a gas can. I politely told him that unless he knows our neighbor he should ask first at which he promptly left. I found out later that day that he went to the neighboring building and stole a child’s bike. You feel for people because they are just trying to provide a Christmas for their own families.

Back to Target: I dropped off Megan, parked and met her inside. She already had a basket with one item in it. I was surprised to find a sleeping bag. But then, I wasn’t surprised. Megan after all is the saint of our marriage. But my Scrooge let loose and I started griping in a repugnant tone about why she had to buy the most expensive sleeping bag in the store and other nonsense. Megan knew the reply – she began reviewing all the things I had spent more money on in the last few weeks, a pair of running shoes being one item and movie tickets being another. Her answer silenced me and I suddenly realized how un-Christian my attitude was. Megan’s later explanation that she has been cold every night (yes, SoCal gets down into the 40’s sometimes – we had snow before Christmas in LA) despite layers of blankets in her foam mattress bed and she couldn’t imagine anyone sleeping out in the cold. On our way out of Target we dropped off the sleeping bag, for which the lady on the sidewalk (we couldn’t tell if it was a man or woman on the way in) prayed blessings on our souls. Needless to say, I was humbled like I should have been.

The next few days were a little better as I looked for similar opportunities to serve others in small ways. I wish I could say our entire celebration was, as a speaker in church called it,  a “Level 3 Christmas”, level 1 being entirely commerical, but we did our job to keep the spirit of Christ and be more loving.  A decent level 2 Christmas I conclude.

resolved to think less selflessly Brett