Radiant Beams

I've just finished wrapping gifts and it's about time for bed. Before going to sleep I wanted to leave this little time capsule for you. I know it will be many hours before most of you read this and see the above picture, so it strikes me that this is a sort of time capsule.

I took this picture just after Kiernan fell asleep on this Christmas Eve. We are at his Gammy and Grance's house, as I've stated previously. Wendy came out to get me and Kiernan's Aunt Amy so we could see him sleeping.

Kiernan is really excited about Christmas this year. Previously he's been a happy participant in the activities of the holiday. He enjoyed the selecting and decorating of the tree. He loved the activities of opening gifts. But this is the first time he really seems invested before the fact. More to the point, this year he is specifically aware of the concept that Santa is coming, and that Santa is someone of import. He gets it this year. And this feels both fun and awesome to me. And by 'awesome' I mean that the power bestowed upon me as a parent to instill my child with the belief in myth inspires awe in me. Seriously. This is a strange and frightening power.

It's also fun. One night early in this process, when we were taking Kiernan to the bathroom in the middle of the night, he was almost totally asleep and he asked, "Have you seen Santa tonight?" He didn't quite get the timing of it all--time is a tough concept in general...sometimes he asks if it is a new day when he wakes up from his afternoon nap, but then I have the same problem when I take naps--but it was clear that since he was asking this question out loud, from beyond the veil of sleep, that the idea was powerful to him.

Anyway, he's had many interesting questions about Santa this year. He is definitely buying into the whole thing, and it's exciting and humbling to see that happen. Mostly it's just fun, though. One great thing tonight was that Aunt Amy loaded a Santa Tracker onto the computer and she and Kiernan went to the computer throughout the night to check Santa's progress across the world's skies.

Great stuff. That and Kiernan reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' with his mom, Gammy, and Aunt Amy before bed, with me and Grance looking on.

He was taking turns with all of them, each reading a page. Kiernan read,

"He had a broad face
And a little round belly
That shook, when he laughed--"

And at this point he paused, and he gave a quick little aside to his mom. He said, looking up to her, "You'll like this part!"

Then he read the rest:

"Like a bowl full of jelly."

I cannot tell you how much I love that aside. I could spend pages extoling it. I won't. Instead I'll just wish you and yours the very best this holiday season. Love to you all. And of course...

Happy Holidays.


[Kiernan has just placed the angel on top of the tree at Gammy and Grance's house for the first time. He is perched upon Grance's shoulders.]