14 Days of Academy Christmas

Silas

Day 3.

Silas's Christmas Boat.  by @bekabooks98

"Hey Superman, what are you doing?" I look up to see my Aggele Mou standing in the doorway.

"I'm building a sailboat and then I'm going to decorate it with Christmas lights."

"That's a cute idea." She says walking over to watch me.

"Thank you. Back home in Greece we would decorate all of the boats in lights. It's tradition. This is my way of bringing it here with me." I see her face light up at my admission.

"Can I make one too?" Her eyes are twinkling like a water nymphs.

"Of course Aggele Mou. Come here and I'll help you." I sit her down in the chair right next to me and get her started. Soon we both have finished sailboats, complete with lights.

"Can we make boats for the rest of the guys?" I can't help but agree to her request. Before long we have a sailboat for each member of our family.

"Now what do we do with them?" I love how she is willing to learn about my homeland.

"Once it's dark we go release them on the lake." I send the guys a text letting them know to meet us at the lake tonight. Aggele and I spend the afternoon making homemade Greek Christmas cookies from my mother's recipe, and eating takeout.

When dusk is setting Aggele and I pack up the boats and drive to the lake. We find everyone waiting for us. I explain the tradition to them and we hand them their boats, painted in their favorite color. I can tell North is emotional. We used to do this together every Christmas.

As a family we release our boats into the water and watch the twinkling lights drift away into the darkness, one pink standing out from the white.