Gift

Call me scrooge. I don't care for Christmas, snow makes me crabby, and commercialization of Christmas irritates me and then there's the problem with finding a gift for all the people one cares for.... not my idea of fun.

It's during this time of year I beg Mr. Johnson to take me a-n-y-w-h-e-r-e as long as the location is somewhat south of our current longitude. I'm not picky. I'm equally contented with the Caribbean, Mexico, Charleston S.C. or Dallas (to see my sister in law).

Thank you Dave Ramsey....not affectionately called Damn-Ramsey ......The Johnson's will be in stinking cold NC all winter this year.

Things changed last night. It had been snowing and sleeting all day. Our horses were packed in their barn until the storm passed without much wiggle room. I mentioned to by doting husband late in the evening that I'd like to do a barn renovation at some undetermined time in the future to increase the size of usable area in the barn. Without thinking twice Mr. Johnson jumped up and said "I'd love to do that with you." Which isn't an uncommon response from the man. In fact he's the most accommodating, relaxed, helpful, and patent man on the earth, just like the original Mr. Johnson was. I count myself the luckiest married woman.

Mr. Johnson, on the coldest night of the year in the pitch black; swung a sledgehammer, sawed through stall posts, and demolished plywood for hours. To create a new barn for me. We reminisced, all the while, about how my husband and his father had installed every nail, hung every gate, and hand sawed every piece of lumber for this horse barn while I was pregnant with Simi. It was a huge gift. They were allowing me to run a business all by myself for the first time in my life. It was a huge gift of trust. They believed in me and invested in me.

While we took apart the first gift making a new gift I realized how much I love being here at Christmastime. I love that it was heavily snowing and blowing all around the barn as we worked and laughed together.  And  my gift of a new barn....it love it. Thank you Mr. Johnson it's perfect.

(my computer or blogger.com won't let me download a pic now. I'll post one later of the beautiful new barn made in the dead of one bitterly cold winter night :)