This year has provided a lot of challenges across several fronts in the western U.S. Early snowstorms in the North, flooding in the Northwest, high winds and atmospheric rivers in the Southwest. Needless to say, this fall and early winter have proved trying for many regions throughout the country and Canada. Sometimes it’s hard to see the joy in the world, although there are simple reminders all around us.
I don’t often talk about my family in this column but wanted to share what Christmas means to us. My children, ages 13, 9 and 5, are all in different phases when it comes to believing in Santa Claus. And yes, we are a household with an Elf on the Shelf. In more accurate terms, we are a household with an elf in every hiding spot we can imagine on the daily, including the faked crash landing that injured the elf one morning when I forgot to move it. That bought me a few days of not needing to move it as she “recovered from injuries” sustained in the crash into the nativity scene.
My 13-year-old daughter knows the truth about Santa, while my 9-year-old is trying to hold onto her belief, even though classmates aren’t making that easy. She is holding onto hope that what she has believed in her entire life is still true and pure. My 5-year-old son just knows he must behave so this mysterious fat man in a red suit brings him gifts. The elf has also become target practice for his nerf gun, to the horror of his middle sister.
This season, I’ve been thinking a lot about them individually. Take my oldest, for example. She learned the truth a few years ago but chose to keep the magic going. She has blended into the role of a third Santa as she has taken the elf duties on magnificently, created her own Amazon account and bought us each a gift, and has made sure to support her younger siblings’ belief system. She has seen that providing love isn’t always immediately rewarded. I think about this the most. She learned there’s a higher calling to keep the Christmas spirit going and to protect the innocence of her younger siblings. As our middle daughter comes closer to the age that she will finally know, I’m confident she’ll do the same for her little brother.
This thought drives my mind into the “why.” Why do we choose to keep this magic alive? Why do we continue to support each other with knowing there will be no notion given to the efforts of their parents and siblings? Quite simple: it’s for the joy we share and the desire to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, especially as we celebrate the birth of Christ, who gave us something so magnificent. We know the worth of making the ones we love feel love from someone and something they’ve never seen before. That is worth the sacrifice of praise. It’s a selfless act for those dearest to us as we recognize the joy they feel from loving and being loved by something they’ll never see, hear, or touch. To me, that’s the definition of the holiday spirit.
As adults, I feel we are much the same. I liken myself to my children. I hold onto the hope that what I do day in and day out and building in my little slice of this world means something to those I make contact with. I hope that I am proving to be a worthwhile choice for my wife. I hope that I am an example to my children to reach for something bigger than themselves. Through this platform that WLJ has built over the last century, I feel I’m just a name in a list of leaders this publication has had, but I treat it as a responsibility to serve those whom I’ve never met or never seen as well as those that I have.
Generally, I think people all feel the same way. We’d like to know that the efforts of our labors for who we provide for, essentially the consumer, are treated in the same manner. I think we hope for the appreciation of the work that went into building a product that goes into a countless number of products across the world. While the markets have forced some out, those of us still waking up, putting in a full day’s labor regardless of floods, fires, winds, heat or rain, makes the life of someone we’ve never met or ever seen just a little bit better. We don’t ask a lot, simply to be treated fair, hoping those who we sell our product to feel the dedication and effort we put into it and treat us with respect for that creation.
While the negative comments and posts gain more circulation, I hope you all remember to be grateful for what we do have and for those we have around us. I’m anxious to see the joy on my kids’ faces as they’re surprised on Christmas morning, but above all, seeing my wife’s and daughter’s faces as their effort brings joy even though it doesn’t bring praise. Merry Christmas to you all, and thank you for over a century of support to WLJ. — LOGAN IPSEN
