Tis the Season
December 26, 2011
So it’s Christmas night….and I have survived the annual hustle and bustle of Christmas traditions, family gatherings, and social commitments. I have cooked, fake cleaned, wrapped, unwrapped, laughed, cried, and witnessed every emotional outburst that all four of my children can demonstrate within a 48-hr timeframe.
I have not stopped eating for three days. And I’m not kidding. As I type this post, I’m picking at a leftover raspberry tart that my mother conveniently forgot to take home with her tonight. I’m sure it will be polished off by the morning…by the elves, of course. Oh wait, Christmas Eve was last night.
Throughout the chaos and my excessive weight gain, the kids have made this Christmas magical. Between the breakdowns and the crying and the whining and the screaming and the fighting……..oh wait, I was talking about the magical part.
Honestly, the kids really have made Christmas downright fun this year. They have plotted Santa’s whereabouts for the last week. Yesterday, my 5yr old daughter told me that Santa was probably wrapping her present because he always saves the best for last. When I asked her how she knew she was the best, she answered very innocently, “Well, he doesn’t have very many options with all the bad kids out there. You know, the ones saying words like ‘duh’. “
My 6yr old daughter has wanted to help me with EVERY SINGLE THING related to Christmas. She asked from November 27th through December 25th if we had “any more Christmas stuff we could put up around the house?” The decorating requests continued even after I gave the kid her very own Christmas tree in her bedroom and let her use wrapping paper as wallpaper. I think I even broke down and pulled paper snowflakes out of my ass for her walls. God love my 1st grade teacher who made about 100 of those for our classroom door.
My 9yr old son asked very few questions this year and instead chose to just “believe”…without saying much. At times I found myself sad that Santa Claus might not ring true this year, but was pleasantly surprised this morning when he spoke with such excitement and sincerity about his love for good old St. Nick and the crafty ways he hides his presents. His love for his sisters, however, not so heartfelt after he barricaded himself and his new legos into our sun room, blocking any and all entrances to children under the age of 9.
My 2yr old daughter may have taken the cake this year, calling Santa Claus “Ho Ho Ho”. She told my husband and I repeatedly that she “sat on Ho Ho Ho’s lap” and “Ho Ho Ho gave me a candy cane”. She jumped up and down with excitement everywhere we went, mastered the art of ripping open presents (even those that were not hers) and yelled “THANK YOU” to anyone who was within a foot of her and a recently unwrapped present.
All and all, I’ll take it……………..and the spirit of the season within me into 2012.
I can only hope my 6yr old daughter is as enthusiastic about taking down the decorations as she was about putting them up.
