I Love It When a Plan Comes Together...

            Heist movies are a favorite of mine. I always love to watch a variety of characters interact, formulate, then execute a plan that usually screws over the bad guy who deserves it. Afterwards, our heroes sail off into the sunset to enjoy their rewards. I guess that is why I was always such a fan of the A-Team. I do love it when a plan comes together especially one that I coordinate. Yesterday helped fulfill that for me.

            On top of that, it was a day that went so smoothly that I meant to go out and buy a lottery ticket because of all the good fortune that kept coming my way. I found lost money, a 25 dollar gift card to Ruby Tuesdays that I got during my new teacher orientation for Savannah schools, and awesome parking at the mall. I could go on but you get the idea. I quote from the book of Ice Cube, “It was a very good day.”

            It was one of those days where I needed it all to go as planned because yesterday was the day I planned to pop the question to Kim.  Kim and I have been talking for some time about getting hitched. It’s been pretty much inevitable. We have known, early on, that we are made for each other.  

            Sometime around the start of the new school year, I began to work on some possible ideas. My roommate, Dan, and I came up with the plan while eating out one night. My little sis, Mary, started e-mailing some ideas and Operation-Get-Kim-To-Say-Yes was hatched. My Mom, Dave Westbrook, Steve Freenor, Kristin Wilson, the good People at Bass Pro Shop, WSAV3, and FOX 28 also got on board to. The biggest confidant came from Veronica, Kim’s 11 year old daughter.

            Anybody who has read my blog for a while can see how my relationship between Ronnie has developed between adversarial to one of mutual love and respect. Back over the summer, Ronnie and her little brother, Jude, started asking about the “m” word. Since then, a promise was made to give them a heads up regarding when we were getting married. I knew I had to include the kids. Ronnie was no problem but Jude can’t keep a secret to save his life. The funny thing was how Ronnie’s first words, when informed her of my plans were, “Don’t tell Jude. He’ll tell.”

            My A-Team was formed. It all came together December 21, 2011.

 11:30am We arrived at Savannah Mall under the pretense of doing some last minute shopping and have a family picture with Santa at 1pm. I dropped Kim and Jude off. The plan is to meet us back at Bass Pro at 12:45. Jude was given explicit instruction to keep his Mom busy while Ronnie helped me finish my Xmas shopping for Kim.

11:45am  Mom and Mary show up at Bass Pro. Mom had the ring gift wrapped in red which is Kim’s favorite color. Mary was supposed to bring my camera and favorite hat. It was the one I bought with Jude to wear on our first vacation together in St. Augustine. Kim loves that hat and I wanted to wear it while proposing. In their rush to meet us on time, Mary forgot both. I had a momentary freak out but regained composure. Sorry again, Mary.

11:50am  We picked up Fast Pass for our appointment w/ Santa from Bass Pro Shop Manager, Lara. Everyone starts making jokes about “You sure she’s gonna say Yes?”  ( Note to Readers: Don’t make this joke to someone about pop the question to their girlfriend. It just makes the popper more nervous.)

11:55am  My stomach begins to get that loopy feeling because I knew I’d  hit that point of no return as I handed off the ring to the Store Manager of Santa’s Village and we went over the plans of how things would go.  More jokes about Kim saying Yes occurred. Geesh!!

12:00am  My hair kept falling in my eyes and I really hated not having one of my newsboys hats. Mary, Mom, Ronnie, and I make a run to Target to get another.

12:05am  WSAV called to set up final details for filming the event. They wanted to meet out front which I thought ruined that whole surprise element I was going for. We worked it out as I rummaged through hats. Ronnie picked out one that made me like Elmer Fudd. I began to grin because I realized an 11 year-old had gotten the better of me.

12:10am  Mary had assumed role of keeping me focused. Apparently, I can get distracted by shiny objects. Mary began to work me towards to the door. I realized I need to have some gifts because that was the main reason we separated. Ronnie and I began to shop for Kim’s stocking stuffers.

12:15am  I headed out the door with new hat on head and hair not in my face. Dave Westbrook called because he wanted to watch the event. I told him to hit us up in front of Bass Pro which was where I was headed for Kim.

12:20am  Ronnie asked how I going to ask Kim and I realized it was the one thing I hadn’t forgotten to figure that one out. I knew there was a good chance I’d get choked up so I decided to go with simple.

            “Kim, will you marry me?”

            Ronnie shook her head, “It needs to be more like you. Bigger.”

            I asked louder with more exaggeration. My response was an irritated stare from an 11 year old. Ronnie was not amused. “You better take this seriously.”

            Trying to stifle a laugh, I looked at Ronnie and said, “Kim, will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

            A pleased grin spread across Ronnie’s face and she said a very satisfied, ”Perfect.”

12:30am   Dave Westbrook showed up. He’s brought his recorder. Dave is one of the most talented musical people I’ve ever met but he loves to play his varying set of recorders. I hate recorders because of a crazed Uncle and Medieval Music Camp that Young Harris College hosted every summer while I grew up. He plays it wonderfully but I suspect he also loves to bring it out to aggravate me.

12:45am  Jude and Kim arrived. We began to go in and I realized I couldn’t swallow. I had to buy a bottle of Bass Pro brand water. I kept thinking of that scene in Jaws where Richard Dreyfus is about to be lowered in the shark cage and can’t make any spit for his goggles.

‘Why am I so damn nervous? It’s all working out,” goes through head on a loop.  

12:55am  We got in line. Mary and Dave kept Kim busy with chatting and small talk. WSAV and FOX 28 showed up and are rolling tape on the kids seeing Santa. Perfect. I hang back with my Mom. She knows I’m nervous and squeezes my hand. We both grinned at each other. She whispers to me, “I am so happy for you.”

            I squeeze her hand again.

1:00pm  Moment of Truth. The whole gang huddled around Santa and we took the best family photo ever. My mom has never looked more happy and beautiful. Kim is so happy and had no idea what is about to go down. The kids were perfect. Mary was beaming and Dave relented on the recorder. Yesssss!

1:03pm  Everyone began to disburse when Mrs. Claus walked up to Kim, She said perfectly, “Kim, I have something for you.”  She handed Kim the box. Kim looked at me smiling nervous because she knew something was up.

Santa said, ”Come here and sit on my knee while you open it.” Kim walked over hesitantly and I stated my descent to one knee.

What happened next is a blur to me. It’s all very fuzzy muddled with a lot of joy and happiness. I kind of remembered her opening the box. I know I asked her to marry me without messing up. Somehow, I even thought of taking off my hat out of decorum. I also know, for a fact, that she said yes because my next clear memory is her smiling at me while holding face and kissing me. A small cheer erupted in Bass Pro and according to Kim, everyone was crying, including Santa and Mrs. Claus.

I had that perfect moment that I always like to talk about. This time it occurred with my family, old, new, and adopted.

I started this blog about a year ago to work on my storytelling skills. Along the way, Kim, Ronnie, and Jude entered my life and filled in all the empty pieces that I had. The more I wrote, the more I realized how much better my life was by the addition of the three of them.  Yesterday, I got the greatest Christmas gift I could ever ask for. As much as I covet my Star Wars Death Star Playset that I got back in 1978, I have to admit that getting a fiancée and two awesome step-kids definitely trumps anything George Lucas or Kenner could ever come up with. I am a lucky man.

I know everyone does the obligatory Merry Christmas and blessed holidays stuff  this time of the year. It’s probably a bit trite by now. Please realize that as I type this from my un-Grinched heart, I mean every word.

Merry Christmas! Go tell someone you love them and hold ‘em close.

I am Santa Claus!!!!!!!!.....



...And then we went shopping at Target but that's a blog for another day.



      I realize that is a bit of a bold statement, but hear me out. I love Christmas. I don’t just love it but I lose myself in it and feel no guilt about it. It comes to me naturally because my two first great male role models were incarnations of Santa themselves. As I look back over past Christmases, I always remember seeing the big guy and my grandfather (Pop), laughing, chuckling, and conspiring to give us a better Christmas than the ones previous. They did.

            This past year has possibly been one of the best Christmases I’ve had since I was a kid. After a long illness due to my kidneys, a divorce, loads of anger, Dad and Belle’s passing, I kind of lost my way but have come out the other side with a Zen-like appreciation for this time of year. I’ve always enjoyed the Holidays but I am now seeing them through new and brighter eyes. Call it a Yuletide Lasik.  

 My Dad always used to light up in telling the story of how my Pop loved the Holidays so much that during the Depression, Pop drilled a hole in the apartment they were renting to make a pond for the Christmas Village he built from scratch. He couldn’t do much in the way of presents but figured he could use his natural talents to make something special for his wife and my uncle to enjoy by their tiny tree.  He did. We still talk about this and have tried many attempts at our own Christmas Village. None seem to rival the homemade masterpiece constructed on Bull Street back in the 30s by my Pop.

            My Dad got so into the holidays that we’d go two hours out of our way on the seven hour car ride to Savannah from Young Harris to mail the family Christmas cards from Bethlehem, GA.  As a teenager, I hated it and would get so frustrated with him. I’d always point out that no one really looks at a stupid postmark anyway.

 He’s always respond with the same year after year,” It’s not about the end result but the effort to make someone happy during Christmas that matters. You’ll get it one day, son.”

As I’ve gotten older, I‘ve finally come to grasp the real meaning of this time of year and why it’s so special. Christmas is universal and is relatable to everyone on some level. We tell of traditions and stories about our pasts to our friends, families, and co-workers and we all get it. It might be one of the most easily relatable subjects on the planet.

I hate to use the term blessed because I am not that religious but it’s the only term I can come up with to describe the feeling that I have this year. Blessed. I have the love of an awesome mother and sister, an amazing girl friend, and two amazing kids. Pardon the Christmas cliché’ but those two damn kids have really un-Grinched me. I didn’t think it was possible to enjoy Christmas anymore that I already did. Add two kids to the mix and JINGLE BAM! (This is our new Holiday catch phrase stolen from Prep & Landing. Feel free to use)

Kim has always told me that she feels sorry for anyone who doesn’t have kids at Christmas and now I understand why. We all laugh a lot as it is but I am wearing this damn perm-a-grin smile because we are having a blast

. I am about to embark to my least favorite place in the world, the Mall. We are taking the kids to do their Christmas shopping. We’re taking Ronnie and Jude to pick out gifts for Kim. My job is to help the kids pick out gifts for their mom.  I should be grumbling but I keep looking at my clock because I am so excited to go.

It always irritates me to hear people say there is no Santa Claus. My students have learned and passed on to their replacements to not go there with me. I do believe and I also believe it’s our responsibility to be Santa to those around us. I don’t mean just the kids but the people who move in and out of our lives. A little consideration goes a long way and I do believe that our senses are a bit heightened this time of year to put ourselves out there more in a giving manner. So when I say that “I am Santa Claus, I guess I should be saying that, WE are Santa Claus!”

from the  Robby & Belle Christmas Card series, 1999 ed.

Belle and I used to do our annual Christmas card every year while she was alive. I’d always figure out clever ways to put ourselves into famous Christmas specials with me in my Green Santa hat that Lori Burnette made and the infamous reindeer antlers Janelle law gave Belle. I always tried to keep them light and funny and they were. While living in Snellville, I realized that Bethlehem, GA was just 15 minutes away. Guess who started mailing their cards to get that damn Bethlehem postmark? Right again, Big Guy. Dammit…..

Channeling the Big Guy and Clark Griswold

 I bet there's some Richardson somewhere in his family tree.

           

Now that I have kids and an amazing lady in my life, I am often commenting on how much life reflects that thoughts and attitudes of the Big Guy and how I am truly his son. The event of last night’s shopping adventure at Target Black Friday sale has never brought out those traits more in my life.

Surprisingly enough, the actual idea of going out and sitting in line for 4.5 hours goes against all that my father stood for.  The Big Guy was doing mail order before mail order was cool. My father would often comment on “all the idiots wasting their time and how that’s not what the holidays are about” in his anti-Black Friday rant.  Over the years I have gradually accepted the Big Guy’s Holiday manifesto and lived it to its extreme. Until last night.

Li’l Sis had told me about the how Target would be selling the X-box Kinect for 99 bucks with 4 games. The idea of saving 150 dollars plus seeing the looks on my newly acquired sidekicks made me realize “this is the gift.” I knew I was committed at this point. Somehow I talked my amazingly understanding girlfriend in joining me and we took off for what was to be a grand adventure.

The line would have wrapped way out of the bottom right of this picture

In order to not waste your time, I am going to request you read Kim’s blog which details in great detail about our shopping excursion and all its epicness. After that come back and I want to hit a few highlights/thoughts. I’ll wait.

                                         http://kimwade1.blogspot.com/

I walked away from last night or rather I limped away from last night with three things revolving around my head.

1)      Shopping on Black Friday doesn’t have to be a bitch. We were stuck in line with some awesome people and I loved getting to know them. I am ashamed to admit that I was worried when the 4 large black guys got in line behind us. They were nice enough but I was concerned their boisterousness would get on my nerves. I love it when I am wrong. Amazing guys. It’s funny how anybody can sit back and relate if you can find a common thread. We probably spent hours laughing about the things we do for our kids and the wackiness that ensues. Later, we had a heated discussion about who has the best milkshake in town. It came down between Sonic and Krystal. That discussion brought all the surrounding men and a small clique was formed.  We never shared names which bothers me today because I realize I will spend the rest of my life looking back at that Thanksgiving night where a bunch a dads and me spent 4 hours laughing about family, drinking buddies (some Rag’s stories were shared to hilarious uproar), and milk shakes.

Who'd thought milkshakes was such a conversation starter?

2)      Lucky Man is going to be the working title for my book when I publish all theses adventures because I am. Having Kim in my life is the greatest thing to happen to me. She lets me be me. Kim went into the cold Target parking lot last night fully expecting failure but was willing to allow me to try. I am happy to say we were successful. I believe it’s because we make a good team. We pretty much threw a Thanksgiving dinner for 12 people and turned around to sit at Target with no arguments or major stress.  We did, however, laugh like hyenas the whole time. She kept me in stitches. Anybody that can make a Warriors and a Close Encounters of the Third Kind reference in one night is tops in my book. I fell in love a little more with her last night.

3)      I understand my parents a little bit more and why my dad became Clark Griswold every Christmas. For the first time in my life, I get to make two children make some memories of their own that will carry on to the next generation of Richardsons and Wades. That is powerful thing yet also beautiful. I realized last night I wanted that Kinect because I wanted to see that “look” on their face when they open it. It was the same look I gave my Mom and Dad when I opened up my Death Star Play set in 1978.  It’s that look of pure Christmas Morning Joy. I want to see that.

Yep, this is what I want to see.

Yeah, I am probably going to spend way too much money this Christmas, I’m probably going to get stressed about stupid Holiday issues like tangled lights or lines at the Mall, and I’ll probably act a bit like Clark Griswold as my own Christmas Vacation unfolds. I just hope that when those moments happen I can remember how I am in very good company because I come from a long line of Griswolds and I am great with that.