four years ago santa visited odin in the sauna and every year since then, when we’re in town for the holidays, we have a christmas eve sauna because, well, you never know maybe he’ll visit again.
this year we were in town but didn’t get a chance to light the sauna which bummed out odin a little bit, so he wrote santa a note and left him some summer sausage, carrots ( for the reindeer ) and a candy cane.
apparently, santa loved the eggnog cupcake he left odin a note and a silver sleigh bell that looks and sounds like it could be right out of the polar express!
santa said he was running a little late and missed our sauna, but that’s alright, since we understand he’s quite busy on christmas eve and certainly can’t visit every year. mighty nice of him to take even a moment to leave a note and a sleigh bell. odin of course, has heard the final paragraph in the polar express many, many times:
“At one time, most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found one Christmas that she could no longer hear its sweet sound. Though I’ve grown old, the bell still rings for me, as it does for all who truly believe.”
merry christmas!
two thousand days.
it really is hard to believe that two thousand days have gone by since odin was born so soon on the fourth of july in 2004. everybody loves round numbers and more than a few have noticed that day 2K was approaching , and on christmas eve no less. a funny and appropriate cosmic coincidence since odin has been the greatest gift we could have ever been given.
i had thought it would be nice to take a supermegaawesome photo on day 2000, but mother nature had different plans and i spent much of the day removing a wintery mix of snow and freezing rain that she dumped on us in anticipation of friends visiting for a christmas eve party with great food, drinks ( this being wisconsin, some even brought their own stash of raw milk as their beverage of choice ) and, of course, saunas for all.
after a very rich evening of listening to children run and laugh through the house, odin and i finally got a chance to enjoy some quiet time in the sauna, throwing steam while recounting the adventures of the day.
“poppi, i love you.”
and then, we heard it. faintly, at first. sleigh bells.
“HO! HO! HO!”
“MEEEEEEERRRRY CHRISTMAS!”
wait, what?
i sprung from the sauna bench, grabbed my robe, ran to the changing room, flung open the door and who did i find standing there? santa claus, himself. complete with the beard, the red suit, sleigh bells in hand. The Real Deal.
odin ran out into the sleet, in the buff, and shouted MERRY CHRISTMAS SANTA!
santa wished odin a very merry christmas and turned away, walking back to the street, ringing his sleigh bells while exclaiming, “MERRY CHRISTMAS! HO! HO! HO!”
a very magical sauna indeed. day 2000 will not, i believe, be soon forgotten.
merry christmas to all. thank you for following odin’s adventures and believing in miracles.