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Happiness Is Where You Find It |
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| by Brandon
Jubar |
(This article first appeared in January of 2002.)
The Garage
"Daddy," I hear, as if from a great distance.
"Daddy," the tiny voice whispers again, followed
by something that can only be classified as "gibberish"
by my sleep-deprived brain.
"Ka...wha na do ih err... lee," I mumble dreamily,
without opening my eyes.
"Daa-dee," the voice whispers more fervently,
and I feel something brush the tip of my nose. My eyelids
flutter open as I attempt to bring the world into focus.
An easy task, if not for the fact that my eyeballs seem
to have a mind of their own, wanting nothing more than
to roll back for a better view of the inside of my head.
Ever so slowly, I claw my way to consciousness, and...
I almost leap up out of bed! The tiny face hovering a
fraction of an inch away from mine causes me to come jarringly
awake. The shock of waking up with someone else's face
right in front of mine -- even if it is my four-year-old
son's -- sets my heart pounding in my throat.
"Kaleb," I whisper between clenched teeth, "don't
do that! You startled daddy." Pound, pound, pound,
agrees my heart -- as the adrenaline starts to subside.
"Daddy, will you open the gate?" asks my little
boy. "It's 8 o'clock and I want to go play with the
garage!" His eyes light up as he speaks these final
words.
The garage! Three levels of plastic service station heaven,
complete with elevator, gas pumps and car wash. Believe
me when I say that it sounds far more impressive than
it is. It was actually an inexpensive last-minute toy
from Santa (who had to use super-glue in order to hold
it together). But it turned out to be Kaleb's favorite
gift.
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The Car
During the weeks leading up to Christmas, my son had made it
perfectly clear that he only wanted one thing from Santa.
No matter how many times he was asked -- regardless of
who asked him -- his answer to that question was always
the same.
"I want a REMOTE CONTROL CAR!"
We're not exactly sure where he came up with this. He
had never talked about it before. He may have seen something
on a commercial, but our boys usually watch PBS. Whatever
the source, there was no doubt that Kaleb had made up
his mind. A remote control car from Santa was the only
thing he really wanted. Unfortunately, Santa wasn't going
to comply.
Don't get me wrong -- we talked about getting him a car.
But with the money-situation the way it was, we just couldn't
justify spending much more. And especially not on a single
gift. My wife and I decided that, if Kaleb didn't get
a remote control car from someone else, we would take
the money he got for Christmas and take him shopping after
the holidays. We'd let him pick out his own car.
And that was that. We didn't worry about it. We didn't
get all stressed out wondering if we should go ahead and
get one anyway. We just placed it in God's hands, and
went about our holiday business. However, a few days before
Christmas we decided that Santa should have at least one
other toy for the boys to share. Nothing expensive. Just
something else to play with, since clothes, though practical,
aren't really much fun. It was basically an afterthought.
So that's the reason I was being dragged, grumbling, from
my nice warm bed on this cold December morning. I opened
the gate at the top of the stairs, and Kaleb squirted
past like a wet bar of soap on its way to the shower floor.
"Daddy," he said, as I turned to go back to
bed. "Will you get my fruit loops and apple juice?"
Ahhh. His snack bowl and sippy cup. I smile as I follow
him down the stairs.
"Slow down," I say, as he races into the living
room, smiling and giggling as he throws himself on the
floor next to "the Garage"! I shake my head
a bit bemused. Car? What car?
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It's The "Fun" That Counts
As I watch my son play, I am amazed at his joy. On Christmas
morning, he never once mentioned the remote control car
he had wanted so much. And I don't think it even crossed
his mind. There were presents to give and receive, and
plenty of toys to go around. He didn't focus on what he
hadn't gotten -- he was too busy enjoying what he had
been given.
It's a lesson that I need to learn. I vaguely remember
being happy with simple things. I seem to recall a time
when almost everything was new and interesting -- even
familiar things. But somewhere along the way life handed
me a whole heap of responsibilities. And for some reason,
I forgot how to just enjoy all the other things that life
has to offer.
"Can I play," I ask my son, as I sit down on
the floor next to him. I try so hard to teach him what
I know -- maybe it's time I let Kaleb teach me.
"Yes," my son replies, with a serious look on
his face. "But you'll have to use the car because
I'm playing with the garbage truck. I'm going to be a
garbage collector when I grow up."
You can be whatever you want, buddy. Whatever you want.
"Beep, beep! Vrooom!"
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Life Applications:
What do you do to have fun?
Why do children seem to make the best of most situations?
Are you truly thankful for what you have, or are you constantly
striving for more?
Copyright 2002 by Brandon
Jubar All rights reserved.
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Scripture taken from the
Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright ©
1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights
reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International
Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered
trademarks of International Bible Society. Use of either
trademark for the offering of goods or services requires
the prior written consent of International Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy
Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used
by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton,
IL 60189, USA. All rights reserved.
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