I have to confess, Advent is a word I've heard many times,
although until recently, I'm not really sure what it meant. A quick glance at
the dictionary told me: "a
coming into place,
view, or being;
arrival." That can certainly be applied to many
things, but in this season, and as the calendar year comes to an end, Advent
makes me think of my family.
It was a day in May of last year when my
wife and I found out that we were expecting a new addition to the family. As
the ultrasound was being performed, we learned that it wasn't just a single
addition, it was a double. Yep...twins. Needless to say we were over the moon and we quickly
realized that we'd have to start getting ready for the arrival of these two
babies. We read books, talked to others, and took parenting classes in hopes of
trying to be ready.
My wife, Kristie, is the one who has the
talent of picking out clothes, choosing colors, and organizing things. Aside
from being the grunt, I felt I had to contribute. I had to use what God gave
me: being fairly adept at working with my hands and having a loving family -
one that also has a cabinet shop. I decided I'd build cribs for the twins. It
was an incredibly rewarding project, one that I got to share with my dad.
As I worked (and worked, and worked) on the cribs, I thought back to all of the things my dad made for me as a child - toy boxes, baseball bats, bunk beds, bird houses, and the like. Maybe someday I'll be able to help build things with my boys. As we progressed in the pregnancy and I finally finished the cribs, it was very gratifying to set them up in the nursery. It made things seem more real. I couldn't wait to see the kids in them.
As I worked (and worked, and worked) on the cribs, I thought back to all of the things my dad made for me as a child - toy boxes, baseball bats, bunk beds, bird houses, and the like. Maybe someday I'll be able to help build things with my boys. As we progressed in the pregnancy and I finally finished the cribs, it was very gratifying to set them up in the nursery. It made things seem more real. I couldn't wait to see the kids in them.
Nick Swanson is an amateur woodworker, and a sleep-deprived yet extremely proud husband and
father. His boys turn one today.