Jesus. First and always, Christmas is about Him. That said, our tradition of gifting our family with something special is a neat one - and I got a couple of gifts that are really making me think this year.
First gift is extravagant. It was a complete and total surprise, but it was even more perfect because of that. If you didn't know before, you'll know after you read this post that I'm a bit of a food geek.
What was the present?
A Himalayan salt block.
Of course, you're saying to yourself, "I was thinking about adding one of those to my list, but never got around to it. Right beside that book I want to read, the decadent slippers I'm too cheap to buy for myself, and jewelry I don't need... Yup, that's where the Himalayan salt block was supposed to go..."
Me? I just learned about these things in the waning days of last summer. Portland is a foodie town (won't you take me to... Foodie-Town?), so we have a resident expert and the requisite boutique in a gentrified neighborhood. It's actually very cute - not cliche at all (unless high prices are cliche to you); and they seem to know what they're doing. I wrote about this little shop in this post.
We'll find out soon, because cooking on a Himalayan salt block is not just new to me; it's apparently new to everyone on the West Coast, except this Portland family of experts. Maybe there's just a dearth of bloggers on this topic. Well, get ready, get set, 'cause I'm going to change all that. Pretty soon you, too, will crave something amazing I'll make with this thing.
The other gift that got me to thinking is of a completely different sort altogether. It's not really decadent, but it represents a labor of love that is so sweet. To me, it is emblematic of change that gives me hope for the future.
What is it?
Pear Bread.
Pear Bread made by my Dad with his own hands. Second recipe, because he didn't get the right amount of baking powder in the first recipe.
He made Pear Butter, too - and canned it in an old artichoke hearts jar. Doesn't that just make your heart break with its sweetness?
My Dad hasn't made anything in the kitchen (at least that I'm aware of) since my Mom passed away. I decided years ago that he just might not cook ever again - that maybe he needed an outside force to bring this beautiful talent back. I'm so glad to be wrong.
I talked with my brother today about what he got for Christmas. This is a question that my husband thought to ask - not me. We traded jokes and stories about our Christmases until he asked me who drew my name. In my family, the adults draw one other adult's name for one big gift.
I'd like to tell you that, because Christmas isn't about getting more stuff, but about the gift of Christ (Him to us and through us to each other), I wasn't really focused on who was giving to me. The truth is that I was too busy visiting, eating, cooking and enjoying to focus on that.
However, when I realized today that Dad had labored over this pear bread and pear butter (which, if you haven't made it, is a truly time-intensive process) just for me, I was floored.
It's taken me all day to process this just a little bit, but I'm happy to share my conclusions. I think that my Dad's gift to me is a reflection of what Christ gave us. He knew that we wouldn't really get the magnitude of the gift; and that many of us would reject it because of it's humble appearance. But that didn't change the absolute perfection of the gift itself.
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