DANIEL J. PAUL

And this could have been one of my life’s longer moments …

Let us begin at the beginning. Last year, I was portraying Santa at the Bishop Noa Home. Accompanying me was an entourage of elves, Sister Dorothea, Tammy (the activities coordinator), and my son, Daniel.

The plan was that the elves were to accompany and assist me as I distributed personalized, individually wrapped Christmas presents. As I entered the first resident’s dimly lit room, I found him lying awake but somewhat non-verbal. While proceeding up to his bedside, I stumbled on a thick mat alongside his bed. Falling to my knees, I struck the foot of his bed. His eyes widened in surprise, and his lips moved, but I couldn’t hear his words (I could only imagine what he was saying).

Eventually, I was able to compose myself and struggled to stand (with the elves assisting). The entourage continued to check on my welfare, but only my ego was bruised. At that moment, the present was delivered to the fellow and his expression was of happiness probably laced with the thought that I would quickly depart before any other calamity might befall him.

Upon exiting the room, I still remained somewhat shaken. Notably, the fall revealed that the padding covering my stomach had shifted upward. To my surprise, two bulges seemingly appeared. Frantically, the elves attempted to adjust the padding by pulling it down. I was thankful for that, until I felt a sudden cool draft hit my posterior. Suddenly, the realization gripped me that (my skivvies were about to be exposed or worse). I exclaimed to Tammy, “Stop, you’re pulling my pants down!” Their faces froze in shock, and then they started to giggle.

As we finished distributing the gifts, a resident in a wheelchair awaited us in her doorway. After giving her the gift and a hug, she mischievously looked, smiled and asked Santa if he would like to sit on her lap. Recalling my previous experience, I opted for a second, safer hug instead.

Now that I have your attention, I would like to share with all of you that this wonderful experience transcends the boundaries of levity. It was elevated to a human emotional impact. See, for one brief moment, these senior citizens were transported back in time to a place where happiness, surprises, and love affected their lives. It was extremely moving when those with voices that couldn’t speak, or limbs that couldn’t move, or ears that struggled to hear, and the vision that was cloaked in darkness smiled when Santa arrived. Somehow energized, for one brief moment, they were children again.

Keeping up with the theme of my recent article on stewardship, I would encourage all of you to commit yourselves to making a positive, meaningful difference in the lives of others.

God bless all of you and from the Paul family, we would like to wish all of you a very merry and blessed Christmas, for He is the reason for the season.

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Daniel J. Paul is a retired school administrator. His articles focus on education, old-fashioned family values, relationships and other topics. Contact him at meaningfuldifferences@gmail.com.