Last night, he was on about Santa bringing him a WiiU again and Karina was gave him a sisterly lecture that started with, "Hey, I'm not getting what I want this year either." And ended with Eli crying, "We should have never gone on the boat." I took over before Karina got to her conclusion. "It was going to be really good," she told me.
With a prayer in my heart, I told him that I love him. I showed him the Ikea Christmas commercials about kids who want attention more than stuff. He was not impressed and seemed a little nervous about the direction our conversation was going. Just when I was about to confess the whole big fat Santa lie, my hero arrived home from work. That man is worth his weight in chocolate covered almonds!!
At first he didn't want to speak to us because Eli and I each had nostrils packed with tissue. 'Tis the season! I convinced him this was a tender discussion about the human experience, namely, Why do some kids get what they want, but I don't? Erik set down his bag. He took off his coat. He thought for a moment. Then he engaged in what I can only call Platinum Parenting and I knew my role had been to stall until Dad got home. Here is a transcript of their discussion.
Erik: You say what you want most is a WiiU. But what you mean is that a WiiU is what you want most -that you don't have. Do you want to know the secret to happiness?
Eli: nods yes
Erik: Your mom and I learned early on in our marriage that the secret to happiness is being grateful. What are some of the things that you do have?
Eli: A family that loves me.
Erik: We do love you. What else?
Eli: My plushies. (plush Nintendo stars: Luigi, Mario, and CatMario which he takes everywhere)
Erik: Yes. What else?
Eli: A home, food, my pajamas, other clothes, a place to sleep.
Erik: There is no end to the things we don't have. That goes for me, for Mom, for Karina, for Sarah Jane... Right now you want a WiiU, but if you had that, you'd be able to think of something else you'd want. If you want to be happy, then you'll be more grateful for the things that you do have. Can I show you something. (He pulls up the NYT Year in Pictures 2014)
Here's a country that at war. These are refugees running away. These people are being shot at. This team lost the Super Bowl. This girl got injured in a police fight. These people are trying to sneak into the country and being met by border patrol. These women are voting despite threats of violence. These people died when their building blew up from a gas leak. This person fell off a horse. These people are angry with their government. These people are praying for relatives who died when their boat sank. These kids are practicing what to do in case a shooter comes into their school, these people don't have enough food.
We don't need to look at all of the pictures. I'll tell you how I feel about Christmas. Big or small, something or nothing - if we have grateful hearts we can be happy. You'll see friends get things that you wished you had and that can be hard. We want to give you everything that you want, but we will give you the best we can. We will give you a gift because we love you. It probably won't be the gift that you want, but we hope you like it. If you want to think about some gifts you can give others, that's another way to feel really great.
Emily, is there anything else you want to add or improve upon?
Me: No. I cannot improve upon what you just said.
I am SO in love with this guy!! #howtodad
We finished up with some snuggles and sent the little scamp to bed.
