Falling Into Greed
We had a merry little Christmas around here. Quiet and charming. The child had given himself little fits on Christmas Eve, on account of having Fallen Into Greed, just like a whole lot of other little children -- in his case, though, he was appalled by this, so it really didn't last too long, though it made him unhappy while he was in it.. Oh, and also, whilst he was in the midst of Greed he got Angry at his mother (no prob; I would have been angry at me, too), and so he had the dreadful experience of living in two of the Seven Deadly Sins at one time, and that's no fun. It's the human condition, I told him. You're going to be dead before you stop falling into greed and anger.
But he was fine for Christmas, having been chastened and humbled by his dark night of the soul --- lucky for him it was just one night; sometimes these things go on for years -- and so he had a great day, cause he was focusing on 1) Being Grateful For What He Had and 2) Seeing If Other People Were Having A Nice Time, and so he was darling and had no cause to reproach himself, and all is well. Of course, in his case, making sure the company had a nice time involved encouraging her to watch his new Bionicles movie with him, so that he could explain ad infinitum the details of the stultifying plot, but he's only seven years old -- one gets more subtle with time. The said company not only watched the entire damn thing, but asked intelligent questions about it, so she also behaved herself well and has no cause to reproach herself for her Christmas behavior, because I'll tell you, it's a major act of charity to sit and watch the Bionicles movie with a seven year old person who's explaining EVERYTHING to you in great detail, using terms which make no sense. So she can come back any time. Perhaps next time the child will have moved on to a new obsession. One can only hope.
And then, the child's mother successfully steamed a Christmas pudding and set it on fire, and so that was entertaining. I mean, really. He OUGHT to be grateful. How many moms in America are setting the Christmas puddings on fire? Always a hoot around here. Never a dull moment.
Now we have a new tradition. I so very deeply enjoyed setting the Christmas pudding on fire that I intend to do it every year. In fact, we may have trouble keeping me down to one steamed flaming pudding a year. I might want one for my birthday.
But he was fine for Christmas, having been chastened and humbled by his dark night of the soul --- lucky for him it was just one night; sometimes these things go on for years -- and so he had a great day, cause he was focusing on 1) Being Grateful For What He Had and 2) Seeing If Other People Were Having A Nice Time, and so he was darling and had no cause to reproach himself, and all is well. Of course, in his case, making sure the company had a nice time involved encouraging her to watch his new Bionicles movie with him, so that he could explain ad infinitum the details of the stultifying plot, but he's only seven years old -- one gets more subtle with time. The said company not only watched the entire damn thing, but asked intelligent questions about it, so she also behaved herself well and has no cause to reproach herself for her Christmas behavior, because I'll tell you, it's a major act of charity to sit and watch the Bionicles movie with a seven year old person who's explaining EVERYTHING to you in great detail, using terms which make no sense. So she can come back any time. Perhaps next time the child will have moved on to a new obsession. One can only hope.
And then, the child's mother successfully steamed a Christmas pudding and set it on fire, and so that was entertaining. I mean, really. He OUGHT to be grateful. How many moms in America are setting the Christmas puddings on fire? Always a hoot around here. Never a dull moment.
Now we have a new tradition. I so very deeply enjoyed setting the Christmas pudding on fire that I intend to do it every year. In fact, we may have trouble keeping me down to one steamed flaming pudding a year. I might want one for my birthday.
<< Home