Face it

Dear Marc, I spent Christmas with family. The family I created with A, and the family I was born in. It was a good time. I received great gifts and ate traditional Swedish feast fare such as pickled herring, anchovies and potato pie and cabbage salad. They say we're living in 2005, soon 2006, but our diet is positively medieval.

Not that I don't like it. I spend the rest of the year dreaming of Christmas.

As for the Christmas presents, I received just what I wanted - dvd:s, books and chocolate.
I share the love of chocolate with my mom and sister in law. The latter is a judge. She told my mother how her colleagues had been shopping for chocolate with her twice a week for a year and still managed to buy her the wrong kind as Christmas came up. They had even bought her milk chocolate truffles, when there were dark ones around. She was sad to find this evidence that her colleagues didn't really bother enough to notice her preference.

My mother was shocked to her core.

"They bought you MILK CHOCOLATE? And they had shopped for chocolate WITH YOU? And these people are judges? What other things do they fail to notice in their daily lives?" My mother is a psychiatrist. She makes it a point to remember personality traits. She would not forgive these sloppy judges.

Meanwhile, dad was decorating his face.

You see this picture? What a cosy moment with grandfather and grandchild














But wait, what's up with the man's nose? Did he drink too much port while nibbling on stilton?
Let's take a closer look.














Ah. He just got a little happy playing with Vanja's playdough. And why shouldn't he? Sure beats adding food to his face like he usually does.

I'm not kidding. Look away for a moment and look back at dad and you're in for a happy surprise. And I'm not talking about the traditional bottle cap eye. No. In my house there have been cucumber eyes, candy eyes, roast beef lips and strawberry noses, an odd assortment of teeth and sock ears.

I remember as I turned 18 and we were all eating out in a fancy Italian restaurant. Dad was proudly announcing a toast to his firstborn. His eyes misted over. Or did they? It was hard to see behind the clam shells he had whisked out of his Frutti di Mare. They fit perfectly behind his glasses, as a little sauce from the pasta dripped onto the table cloth.

It might sound embarrassing and at 18 I did not appreciate his manners. But these days, I bring out eye friendly fruits, vegetables and meat whenever dad's coming over. I love how he can't help from cheering us up. It's an absurd world and it's only fitting that eyes the colour and shape of sliced sausage should bring a little happiness into my life. Besides - no need for a Christmas tree with a trimmed up dad around!

Seeing as you're a man known to transform your entire self into condiments, I'm sure you can appreciate a clam enhanced dad.

What brought happiness into your world this Christmas Marc?
curious greetings
-e