46 : Gifts for Everyone

Puck’s morning was already completely planned out for him. He just didn’t know it yet. Sometimes his Aunt Rose likes to surprise family members with random gifts. And today, Puck’s dose included a shiny new box of ninja Legos. Heaven.

Yali hadn’t been overlooked, either. His gift box included eight smart rubber horses in their own wood stable. With a handle for carrying.

And of course there were always go-cart rides with Uncle Francis. Uncle Francis merely substituted himself for the engine, pushing them up and down the street. Safety first.

It was almost two o’clock and time to go. Carrie-Bri sent us home with a pan of almost full-risen Amish potato rolls.

As soon as we got home, I heated the oven and stuck them in for twenty minutes. When they came out, soft, white, and thick on the inside, golden on top, the boys flew towards the aroma. Steam billowed into the air as I split them open and added Irish butter. When Puck took his first mouthful, his eyes popped.

“WOW. … Wow. … Oh. WOW. … This is … AMAZING!”

A few moments later, I had to agree. “This is so good.”

Puck dug his face back into the roll. “I know, right?”

It was almost bedtime for little niños. When Yali walked back to my room to change into his jams, I saw that Oxbear had affixed a band-aid straight across his nose. I was pretty sure this was nothing more than a sympathy band-aid. Because only ten minutes earlier, Puck had walked in, limping across the floor.

“What happened, bud?”

“I ran outside to see Dad. And I tripped on the concrete. I stubbed my baby toe. It flaked right off.”

“Brave kid.”

“I didn’t even cry.”

“You’re a tough man. It’s okay to cry though.”

Carrie, Rose, and Francis arrived early for movie night. More gifts. Mine was a box of fresh Prismacolors and a Korean adult coloring book.

After Oxbear and Francis came back with sacks of unhealthy snacks, we sat down for 96 minutes of absurd Chinese-Californian ping-pong. I’m pretty sure we’ll never run out of bad movie night film options.