Question: What is the attention span of a Goldfish?...

Answer: 4-7 Seconds.

I'm glad to learn that there is something out there with a shorter attention span than me.

My sister hosts an annual "Gingerbread House Party" during the Christmas Season. It is a family favorite. My daughter and her friends look forward to it every year.

I do too.

Until I get there. . .

. . . and see an entire candy store, hundreds of sheets and squares of cut gingerbread , gallons of Royal Icing, vats of jimmies, sprinkles, and everything else laid out on the table waiting for us to make our creation.

My mind starts to wander.

I call it back and think about making the best gingerbread house and winning the competition.

Oh, Yes . . . it is a competition.

One that I usually don't win.

I'll show you some examples of our Gingerbread Houses.





My daughter made this one. Click on any of the pictures for a better view.
Isn't it adorable? She made this when she was 10. Notice that hers is made on a paper plate.
My sister made this one. Notice that hers was made on a very large cutting board.
This is mine. It's Rudolph in his pen. It took me about 3 minutes to make it.
Here is my sister's again. We liked it so much we decided to move in for the holidays.

Guess who won?

I like to think I did, for "most creative"...but, I didn't. The year I did win...the camera broke (mysteriously) and there isn't a single picture of my Candy Cane Forest from the movie Elf featuring the lake and Buddy. It was so fabulous, my sister used it as her centerpiece.

It took me 4 minutes to make that one.

I was concentrating hard that year.

In all fairness, it took my sister 3 days to make the house pictured in this post. I probably started 52 different projects and my mind wandered a thousand times while she patiently and diligently worked on her beautiful gingerbread house.

I'm certain that she stood in the patience line when God created her.

I'm also certain that I stood in the fastest line when God created me.

Fortunately we met in the sister's line and ended up family.

At least my short attention span has never stopped me from knowing what's really important in life.

Family.