Merry, Merry!

This is my aunt's favorite phrase. We don't know why she says it, but we know what she means. Merry, Merry! It's the idea that we create our own happiness-- and she is wishing for lots of it in our lives.

What with the concern and confusion surrounding the gifts my parents gave my cousins (see "Say What?"), and figuring out transportation for those without cars... I was a bit stressed when the big West-Coast family Christmas finally happened this weekend.

The best part was actually the gift my cousin gave her sister. It was even better that I got to help give it. My cousin lives in a 300 sf apartment, and doesn't have a vehicle. The box was huge, difficult to grasp, and rather heavy. To top it all off, the contents were delicate. One full-size piano keyboard with weighted keys, and a music stand on top. My cousin is an all-or-nothing kind of person. She'd also run out of wrapping paper after wrapping up only one end of the box, and her sister was coming to visit. In the midst of my planning for the big extended family Christmas, I called my cousin to see if she wanted to ride with me to the big event. She did. She also needed a favor. Could I keep the piano until it was time? I could.

I had been to Costco recently, and along with three tiny indoor-outdoor snowmen who jiggle like jell-o and sing "Jingle Bells" to passers by in silly high-pitched voices, I'd bought a Costco-sized roll of Christmas wrapping paper. When I got the piano box home, I finished wrapping it with my bottomless roll of paper, put a grand gold ribbon around it, and topped the whole thing off with a little sticker saying the gift was from me to a family member who couldn't make it to Christmas this year.

A week later, when I came to pick them up and drive out to the beach for our big celebration, I had my story ready. "I had this great idea to put all the gifts for Teresa and her family in one box, and just leave it at your parents'-- sorry." My cousin laughed. Her sister nodded and got busy packing her winter break bags around the huge box in my car. I found out later she'd actually thought I was totally insane, and had worried that I might actually try and ship the box to Teresa. It would have cost nearly as much as the piano hidden inside.

When my cousin finally lugged the box over to her sister, after all the other gifts had been given and enjoyed, the rest of the family were all grinning like the Cheshire Cat. We all knew what the gift really was... The only person who didn't know had to ask us about five times if the box was really for her... and then she ripped through all that wrapping paper I'd used in about two seconds. She was so happy to see that shiny new keyboard, she started hyperventilating. What a lot of happiness that one gift created for so many people. Merry, Merry!
...I just hope Teresa isn't disappointed-- all I got her this year was a football.