My little angel Evie turns nine years old this Christmas Eve. So far she hasn’t noticed that it’s kind of hard having a December birthday. We’ve been lucky—most of her friends have been able to come to her parties, which we’ve always thrown on Christmas Eve itself. Parents are generally happy to have a few hours to themselves this time of year, to ready the house for holiday company or do very last-minute shopping.
This year we’ll spend Christmas in New Orleans, so Evie’s having a slumber party with pizza, popcorn and our feature film, It’s a Wonderful Life, on Saturday night. Well, I hope and pray we’ll come through with the movie, as planned.
Our old DVD player pooped out on us last week. I spent too long at the mall over the weekend, first trying to find a parking place (the parking angels were working overtime), then waiting to be waited on at the electronics store, then standing in line to pay for a new DVD player. I didn’t deserve to be at the mall. I’d done my Christmas shopping early specifically to avoid the crowds!
Back at home, I took the player out of the box, attached the cables, and … nothing. I switched the cables around, matched colored heads, mismatched colored heads, did everything I could think of to make the thing work. Finally I stared at the It’s a Wonderful Life disc, wishing Clarence the heavenly angel would step into the room and help me out. When the phone rang, I thought of Zuzu Bailey’s famous line, “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.”
Our babysitter Ashley was calling to find out when she and her boyfriend, Mike, could deliver some homemade Christmas cookies. They’ll come by tonight, after Mike gets off work. He installs electronics. And tonight I believe this earth angel will earn his wings. Is that a bell I hear ringing?
