Papa in the Box – Good News of Great Joy!

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10,11

Christmas – so anticipated by all of us! So many family traditions that started 43 years ago when we celebrated our baby boy’s first Christmas, but how would it look this year without Papa – our Patriarch – that started our family’s traditions?

All twelve of us (that includes Ron’s Mom) met for our annual Christmas celebration. After our traditional Waikiki Meatballs and Rice, Chicken and all the trimmings, we went to the Game Room where the grandchildren delighted us with their talents in their traditional Kids’ Christmas Program. Oh, there was a change this year – the oldest grandson, Braden, now 18, was exempt from performing….after all, now he’s a man, and he was ready to put away those childish things, but the others gave us piano solos, songs, stories and dances that gave us all such joy.

Then it was time for our traditional Christmas Story that had been read by Papa, from the same book since Braden was a baby. All the kids would sit on Papa’s lap, or by him, and he would mimic the voices of Mary, Joseph, the Innkeeper, the Shepherds and the animals. It was always a delightful time with lots of photo opportunities. Braden, our 18-year old (the man, now), broke into tears a few days ago when he remarked, “This will be the first time in my life when Papa won’t be reading the Christmas Story!” Yes, it’s a new day, and we’re creating new family traditions as we go. We’re all realizing we have to step up to pick up the slack that was left by Papa’s departure. So the family’s consensus was, “It’s Uncle Ryan (our son) that should step up to be the official Christmas Story reader from now on!” Oh, yes, he was under pressure. He had big shoes to fill – after all, Papa was the master voice mimic! Though we missed Papa’s presence and his own “Papa” style, Uncle Ryan, under great scrutiny by the little eyes and ears of the young ones, did a splendid job – he made the kids – in fact, all of us, smile and laugh, and we were inspired by the awe and wonder of our Lord’s birth once again.

Of course, the highlight for the kids is always getting to open their gifts – finding out what their hidden treasures would contain! Shouts and squeals of joy always puts smiles on all our faces.

Then it was Nana’s turn to be sentimental. I had spent days rummaging through my Honey’s treasures and items that represented who he was. I gathered the items together and strategically placed them in six very fine treasure boxes for the grandchildren. In the oldest grandson’s box, was Papa’s wallet that held his pilot’s license (Braden just completed his first “solo” flight. He’s in training for his pilot’s license – following in Papa’s footsteps); in the second oldest grandson’s box, was Papa’s sports pins from the 2000 Super Bowl that he attended, as well as his OU Sooner lighter (Bear is the sports fan – and has lots of sports memorabilia); in Payton’s box (our 10-year old grandson), was Papa’s fishing knot tying book (Payton is the fisherman – following in Papa’s footsteps); in Alexia’s box was a little stuffed animal that I gave Papa many years ago and she always loved it. And in all of their boxes were other symbolic little items that spoke of the Papa they knew and loved: 1) his favorite gum – Trident Citrus Flavored; 2) Smarties candies – Papa would always have some hidden in his office for them; 3) Breath Freshener Strips – Papa always made sure his breath smelled good; 4) a Measuring Tape – represented Papa’s ability to build, restore, and remodel; 5) one of Papa’s hankies; 6) one of Papa’s pocket knives; 7) some of Papa’s pins from the many organizations he belonged to; 8) one of Papa’s crosses and religious coins; 9) a pair of Papa’s glasses and 10) one of Papa’s watches. No, nothing in those boxes represented a lot monetarily – but each item symbolized the Papa they knew and loved. They’ll take those boxes home; perhaps, put them under their beds, and from time to time, will open them again and recall the joyful times they had with Papa.

Then, I gave an envelope to each one of the children, grandchildren and Ron’s Mom. Those envelopes contained about five photos of Papa with that person. Each of us told about those photos — what we were doing with him and what we felt during that time. A range of emotions would follow. Yes, it was a celebratory time – time filled with tears and laughter – but special in that each of us, individually, and collectively, were able to release our emotions and tell about the love we have for Papa, recall the special man of God he was, the special Papa he was, and the Dad and Husband that laid a sure foundation of faith, hope and love in our lives. We shared those precious memories together and all agreed that we will get busy with doing what he taught us with actions and words to do – to be a family that bases our lives on trusting in God, sharing the GOOD NEWS of GREAT JOY everywhere we go.

The evening finale was singing “Happy Birthday, Jesus” before we dived into Granny’s amazing chocolate cake. Yes, we will continue to celebrate and praise God and say with the angels, “Fear not, for behold we bring you GOOD NEWS of GREAT JOY! Jesus Christ is born. He’s the reason for the season. He’s the reason for our joy!”