It doesn't take much to keep a five-year-old happy on Christmas eve. I helped Sophie spell the words in her note to Santa and promised to set it on the kitchen table along with the customary milk and cookies. "Don't forget a carrot for his reindeer", Sophie reminded as I tucked her in and ventured downstairs. Her mom had been out of the loop with the flu and I was trying hard to pick up the slack to help David while he finished correcting loads of term papers and final exams.
This was not a Norman Rockwell Christmas but enough of the myth and the magic hung around to provide the right atmosphere for the girls.
Sophie was sitting on the couch when I arrived the next morning, waiting patiently for the rest of the family to come down and open the presents that Santa had left under the tree.
"Babci, Santa ate the cookies and wrote a thank-you note!"
I'm glad she's still caught up in the wonder of it all. I remember being about the same age and awakened in the wee hours of Christmas by a loud thump and crash. Mom came rushing into my bedroom telling me to go back to sleep, nothing to worry about. Santa Claus just tripped. Santa brought me a shiny bike. I'm sure my dad had some black and blue shins that Christmas.
This Christmas brought American Girls and Dancing Princesses. Not quite sure what's going on in their Castle though ... the 12 Princesses have only three beds.
The girls are really into all that frilly, silly, girly stuff. I'll just have to remember to teach them how to use a hammer and power drill when they're a little older.
David cooked a whopper of a meal; we ate buffet style and brought our plates back into the living room. Jenn tried to keep down some mashed potatoes and ice cream. Pop pop and I took some pictures. The girls had lots of new toys and books to play with. There were plenty of unsolicited expressions of "thank you" as they unwrapped their gifts. This makes up for the tantrums and squabbles, believe me. Sophie and I ended the day on the living-room rug, picking up at least 500 micro-beads from a jewelry-making kit that spilled from the couch.
There have been brighter Christmases but we managed to muddle through. For Sophie and Hannah, the day was filled with lots of surprises from family and friends far away. I guess that connection alone made it a special Christmas after all.
Here's to a healthier start to the New Year and better sleeping accommodations for the dancing princesses.
2 comments:
Poor Jenn, but lucky little girls to have their grandmother. This will surely be one of those "remember the Christmas when . . ." that will be talked about in years to come.
I have a friend who after taking the carrots away late at night puts raisins down on the floor to show the kids as a "sign" that the reindeer had been there.
Sounds to me though that you had enough cleaning up to do. Still, all ended up well and you were lucky to share in each others company during the holidays. Sounds silly but in this day and age that's a big deal.
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