Best Christmas Gift . . .

. . . ever.

(Short of the First One, that is.)

This past Christmas Sara put a little red packet of wrapping paper in my stocking. I opened it up to find a thin slip of green paper with a number and a phrase: my first clue. I knew from that moment I was getting a taste of my own medicine: a clue-to-clue hunt. So I followed where the hints led me--to places at work, around the house, and to people we knew. About twenty-four clues in all I had to find, and beginning with number two, I received a puzzle piece with each clue.

The tension built as I assembled the puzzle. I knew that Sara was particularly excited about her gift to me this year, but I had not idea what it was. Even the fact that she had reserved two days in July on my calendar did not tell me what was up. All I figured was that it couldn't be something that required a plane flight (too short). Not much to go on. So I patiently put piece after piece together.

With only three pieces left, I could see that I was assembling a poem. The first three stanzas, with only one lacuna, I could read:

"Your daughter and I, we love you so much

We're so glad to make a fuss.

For the husband so dedicated and the dad so fine

To give a break away from the grind

For many years you've been a fan

To see them live, Wouldn't that be grand

In 2010 you'll have your chance

To see the whole show, not just a glance

Tickets were purchased, to give you admittance

To Meadowlands Stadium, really a pittance

For all the diapers, toilets, laundry and dishes

Without complaint you care for our wishes"

Now I must admit that I think I had guessed it by this point. The best hint came not from the poem itself but from the background on which it (and the whole puzzle) was printed: a LAX-spider-like piece of architecture in the middle of a stadium. I had seen that before, in adverts . . . . But I held my peace for the last piece, which, when I found it, completed the last stanza:

"So on July 19th you'll join the throngs

To hear played many favorite songs

So now to wait until we go

For a night away to see U2's show"

We're going to see U2 in July!

My wife rocks. And she's a poet and I didn't know it. So I hung her work of art up on the wall:

I saw them in 1998 (also as a gift) at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Being college students, we had nose bleeder seats (though with U2's signature screens, we didn't lose much of the action). It was a cool show then, and I'm sure the boys from Dublin will live up to their reputation this year. Another reason to be excited about summer!

~emrys