A Christmas Miracle

I thought long and hard about what I wanted to write about today.  I considered looking back on some of the special childhood memories from Christmases past, like when I was a boy living in Holland and was pretty sure ‘Black Bartje’ was going to leave a lump of coal in my stocking because I hadn’t exactly been on my best behavior in 1962.  I considered the first Christmas Cindy and I shared when we were a couple, but truth be known I was at my parents’ house in Virginia for the holidays explaining why I failed calculus and biology my first quarter at the University of Florida and was already on academic probation (it was because studying was the furthest thing from my mine and all I thought about was how much I missed Cindy who was enrolled at Florida Junior College her freshman year).  I considered reflecting on one particular Christmas when Justin and Josh were young and I dressed up like Santa Claus and the boys kept saying how much Santa sounded like dad yet it never dawned on them it was me behind the white beard and red velour.

Then something happened last night after we had our Christmas Eve dinner that made the decision on what to write about for me:  I witnessed a bona fide Christmas Miracle.

Let me set the stage first.  Cindy prepared a fantastic meal of crab cakes, pasta and salad for Justin and his girlfriend Stacy, Josh, her father Lee and she and I.  As we were finishing up our meal Lee was telling the story about telling his father he was going to marry Eva and his father asked: ‘Boy, how did someone who looks like you get someone as pretty as Eva to marry him?  Did you tell her you were rich?’  (He was kidding, of course.)  Lee replied ‘I told her that I loved her and wanted to marry her.’   (He was serious.) 

While Lee was telling his story Justin was standing by the table, bouncing around like a four-year old boy who had been ‘holding it’ for a really long time and was about to explode if he didn’t find a bathroom really, really soon.  Actually it was EXACTLY like a four-year old boy who had been holding it for a really long time, except that this four-year old boy was 5 foot nine, 185 pounds and sported about a half dozen tattoos. 

Somehow I knew exactly what Justin was up to.  In fact at the precise moment Lee finished his story I whispered to Cindy ‘segue.’  I could tell by the expression on her face she had no idea what I was talking about (Hello, McFly!), but she would soon find out.

Because then it happened: The Christmas Miracle.

Justin loudly asked for everyone’s attention.  We all looked at him as he dropped down on one knee, pulled a small box out of his back pocket and flipped it open, revealing a silver ring with a pink diamond.  He looked Stacy in the eyes and said ‘Baby, I love you; will you marry me?’  So far so good, right?  It was the absolute classic marriage proposal.  ‘Who is this masked man?’ I asked myself.  

Stacy, obviously moved by his proposal quietly said ‘yes’ and held out her left hand.

Well, it was the classic marriage proposal up until then, because it was at this point Justin asked: ‘Which finger do I put it on?’

Ahhh…now I know this masked man.  It is Justin.     

At this point Cindy turned to Lee and said: ‘Did you see what just happened?  Justin asked Stacy to marry him.’  To which Lee replied: ‘They’re not married???’

I was laughing so hard my side hurt.  I looked at Justin and asked him which one of us Will Ferrell would portray when they made this into a movie.

It turned out to be quite the eventful Christmas Eve, as:

·     Cindy and I will be gaining a pretty special daughter-in-law.

·   Cindy’s wish of evening the odds in our family’s gender population is being addressed (at the moment she is the only female in a family of five males: Lee, Justin, Josh, Krischan and me).   

·    Our first child appears to be all grown up. 

There you have it: Our Christmas Miracle.