Wrapping Tradition

Saturday night I engaged in one of my favorite holiday traditions.  After Timmy went to bed and Robby was occupied with the computer, I packed up the car and drove over to Mr. Bill's house.  He was waiting for me to arrive, with all of my supplies already laid out on his dining room table.  Sneaking over to his house to wrap all of the presents has transformed a dreaded chore into something I happily anticipate each year.

This time of year Mr. Bill transforms from a wonderful neighbor into an irreplaceable Christmas elf.  For weeks Scott and I have been leaving packages and bags on his doorstep. He not only stores them out of sight of peeping eyes, but everything that requires assembly is magically put together when I arrive to wrap. Not having to assemble any toys has been his standing gift to both Scott and me each year, and I have to tell you that it is one of the best presents ever!  Not only does it save me a lot of time and aggravation, but I am assured that the toys are assembled correctly and that all of the requisite pieces are used. 

While I set up to begin wrapping, Mr. Bill always goes into the living room and turns on his Greek music. The tapes are among his most cherished possessions because they were made by his father. Between the lively songs his Dad can be heard talking, which is probably one of the reasons that he treasures them so much. He only plays the tapes during our wrapping party, on his Dad's birthday and on his birthday. I feel honored to have become part of his tradition. 

With the Greek music blaring, Mr. Bill sits next to me with a cup of eggnog and regales me with tales from his childhood Christmases. He always tells me that I overdid my shopping and teases me for my poor wrapping abilities. Seeing the military memorabilia that I was wrapping for Robby must have triggered more memories because he even pulled out his photo albums and proudly shared photos from his paratrooper adventures.

While I was busy wrapping, Mr. Bill shared that he would like to find a machete similar to the one that he had when he was in the military. He claims that the modern versions available at stores are too flimsy and will not hold up as he chops down the brush in the woods. He never asks for anything, so I am now determined to fulfill this wish. Today I'm going to start calling Army surplus stores to see if I can track down the knife.  Wish me luck, because after 10 years of being a great neighbor, friend and surrogate grandfather, he certainly deserves a nice surprise!