Time to Get Up

I try to take the week between Christmas and New Year's off from work. I usually end up having to go into work at least one day and have to get up early on another to put out the trash. Other than that, I fantasize that I'll be able to sleep late.

I'm not sure why, but Sam sleeps late on the days I have to get up early and gets up early on the days the days I could sleep late. On the days he gets up early, he wakes me up by standing at the side of my bed with his face about six inches from mine, staring at me, waiting for me to get up. I have no clue how I know he's there or why this works, but it does. I blink my eyes open and there he is, ready to go downstairs.

Snow Day

A blizzard is heading our way. I already have four shovels but I feel like I should go out and buy one more. This will somehow give me a head start on the storm.

Update: Yes, the blizzard came. No, the extra shovel didn't help.

Christmas Day

Christmas Day has come and gone with all the speed that I knew it would. Christmas has always been pretty low-key in our home. The stockings get sorted through and the contents examined. Some stuff is put aside to be scrutinized later. The kids then take turns opening presents. And later, everyone mellows out while I get an early dinner ready (this year, turkey, etc.)

The best part, like always, is that we could all be together.

As the family gets older I can't help but wonder how many more Christmas's we will share together. Of course being the way I am, I've wondered this for years. At the end of the day, I sit and watch as the kids re-examine their gifts and I wonder where we will all be a year from now; what changes will each of us have gone through?

Christmas Morning

I don't know how Sam did it. He had the patience to wait until about 7:00 before getting me up on Christmas morning. Even then he was subtle about it. He woke me with his "whistling" while he was walking from his room to the bathroom...back and forth several times. I suspect a lot of credit goes to Jake who does such a good job of distracting Sam and keeping him busy.

The Stocking on Christmas Eve

When I was Sam's age, my sisters and I would meet in my brother's room and wait for some "decent" hour to wake my parents. I don't know what hour that was exactly, but I do know that it was pitch black outside...and it stayed pitch black for another couple of hours.

Our method of waking our parents didn't involve gentle whistling, it involved yelling while running into their dark room and jumping on them in their bed. It wasn't as subtle as the whistling, but I don't think subtly would have worked at that hour.

Christmas Eve

I can remember climbing into bed with the excitement of knowing that Christmas was the next day. Sleep was next to impossible. I was pretty sure Santa would come, but I was never 100% certain. There was always that slim chance that some minor offense that I had (allegedly) committed earlier in the year would come back to haunt me. My siblings apparently felt duty bound to remind me of any infraction, no matter how small, and how it was going to affect the possibility of Santa even showing up. They made it pretty clear that I was probably screwed and it would be a miracle if I got anything. But I knew that Santa understood. At least, I was pretty sure... not the “I'd stake my life on it” kind of sure, but I'd certainly stake any of my siblings lives on it.

On Christmas Eve, we would sit around the living room listening to Christmas carols with only the lights of the tree lighting the room- throwing shadows on the walls and ceiling. There would already be a couple of presents for each of us under the tree that had arrived in the mail from our aunt and grandmother. We spent the better part of the night begging to open "just one" present before bedtime. Mom and Dad would finally relent, and afterward they would try to calm us all down and herd us into our beds. After the “good-nights” and back scratches, I would lay there, and struggle to sleep. I had been told previously that staying awake could be a contributing factor to Santa not showing up. But I couldn’t stop myself from listening and hoping and waiting. Next to my bed was a window and I would stare out past the pine tree weighted down with snow, past the park and past the neighbor’s house across the way, looking for some movement as I would drift in and out of sleep.

As the night wore on, I would have to get up and go to the bathroom. This was always a scary proposition at night. Our bathroom was down the hall and across from a long set of stairs that descended into darkness below. If I was stupid enough to look down the stairway on any normal night, I knew I would see an ax murderer staring back up at me from the darkness, cleverly waiting patiently for his chance to get me. I would have to dash into the bathroom and then back into bed and under the covers as fast as I could go.

But on Christmas Eve, I would stare down the stairs and wonder, was the living room empty? Or had Santa come and gone. And if he had come, did he leave any presents? ...Any for me? I stood there and listened but I couldn’t hear anything except the clock ticking in the dining room. I wasn't brave enough to go down and look. I headed back to my room more nervous than before.

Climbing back into bed, I would resume the battle to get to sleep. The silence was so still it was overwhelming. I was never up this late and it was a little creepy. I tried to relax but sleep seemed impossible. Would Santa come? Would he leave me anything? Surely I couldn't have been all that bad. It’s not like I killed someone or anything...

As the night ground on I continued to drift. In the pre-predawn hours I would once again open my eyes and try to get my bearings. I would look out my window for any sign of tracks in the snow. I listened for any movement downstairs and heard nothing but the clock. That’s when I noticed that on my night stand there were a couple of candies. Santa had come! At some point when I was asleep, somehow he snuck in and looked in on me and he left me a couple of candies. All my worries about whether he would even bother were now replaced by even more excitement... and relief . A decent hour to get up and meet in Steve's room was still a ways away, but I could wait... barely.

Every Christmas, the candy on my table always let me know that Christmas really was here and that as busy as Santa was, he had taken the time to look in on me.

Santa doesn't leave chocolates on my table anymore but he does for my kids. And even though so many years have passed, on Christmas Eve when all is finally quiet and stockings are stuffed and presents are under the tree and the candy is left on night stands, I lay in bed for a few minutes and listen to the silence and I still feel the same excitement. And I hope that my kids have experienced the same feelings: the anticipation and the excitement that someone, who doesn't have to, thinks they're special.

Dinner Time

Every Friday, assuming I have some money, I stop at the McDonald's drive through to get Sam a "Happy Meal". It's the same order every week: A Chicken Nugget Happy Meal for a boy with a Dr. Pepper to drink, two apple pies and a cup of water.

I don't know what was going on there today but it was taking forever just to get up to the point of ordering. Plus, there was the added enjoyment of listing to the Drive-up Woman blasting everyone's order through the speaker.

I'm three cars back and I can hear the order blaring through the speakers and echoing off the fence that separates the parking lot from the houses behind. I'm thinking that the people that live behind this place must be on their phones complaining to the Corporate Offices by now.

As I get closer, the woman if front of me is trying to order a "Frappuccino". Apparently this normally comes with whipped cream and a "drizzle" on top. She wanted it "her way" (wrong place) and wanted neither topping.

Car Lady: "I'll have a frappuccino, but no..."
Drive Up Woman cuts in, blaring, "YOU WANT A DRIZZLE ON THAT?"
"No, I don't want a drizz..."
"DO YOU WANT WHIPPED CREAM?"
"No, I Just want ..."
"THE DRIZZLE GOES ON THE WHIPPED CREAM."
 " *mumble*...  I don't want the drizzle and I don't want the whipped cream!", Car Lady manages to say.
"WILL THAT BE ALL?"
"Yes...Hello?"

*silence*

*silence*

*silence*

"PLEASE PULL AROUND!"

This jolts me out of the stupor I was falling into. I pull up to the speaker to order and wait
and wait...and wait...

"CAN I HELP YOU?"
"Yes", I say, "I'll have a Chicken Nugget Happy Meal for a boy with a..."
"FOUR PIECE OR SIX PIECE?"
"Four piece. And I'll have a Dr. Pepp..."
"YOU WANT FRIES WITH THAT?"
"Fries? With a Happy Meal? Yes. And to drink, I'll have a..."
"WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DRINK?"
"I'll have a Dr. Pepper. And two apple..."
"IS THAT ALL?"
"No! I'll alsohavetwoapplepiesandacupofwater!"

*silence*

*silence*

*silence*

"PLEASE PULL AROUND!"

I inch around the corner. I can see the woman in the window in front of me taking the orders and while her lips move, her voice is blaring through the speaker that is now behind me. The poor woman in the car behind me is attempting to order a Chicken Nugget Happy Meal for her little girl. She's having the same amount of luck that I did.

I pull up to her window to pay. I debate about telling her that her microphone is too loud but decide it's not worth it.

Some guy's arm reaches out of the other window that's in front of me and hands the first woman her order. Its her frappuccino. With whipped cream. And a "drizzle".

There's some discussion and his hand slowly starts to pull it back in. She waves her hand at him. His arm inches back and forth a few times, his other hand waving as if to say "We'll replace it". She apparently will have none of that. He hands it back to her and she drives away.

I pull up and wait for my order. There's hardly anyone inside but it's taking forever. I hear Drive-up Woman's voice still blaring from the speaker behind me in the distance. Finally, the window beside me slides open and the guy begins handing me my order. I check inside the box to make sure that I don't have a burger instead of nuggets. Nuggets, fries and a toy. Seems to be all there.

I'm handed the two drinks and bag with apple pies and begin to leave. The woman and little girl in the car behind me pull up to the window. I pull away and head home.

When I get home I set Sam's stuff on the table and he proceeds to unpack the food. Nuggets, fries, cup of water, apple pies... "Hey", he says. "I got a girl's toy!"

I hope that little girl in the car behind me likes Bakugan figures because Sam loves the little stuffed animal that he got.

Getting Closer to the Holidays

Picked up Rachael and Jake tonight. I'm three quarters of the way there.

All Better

Nothing like starting the day at 3:30 AM with a panic attack about a problem at work, going in at 5:00 and then spending the better part of the day trying to resolve a screaming match between two employees.

All was cured tonight by putting "Frosty the Snowman" in the car's CD player on the way back from the grocery store and then driving around looking at Christmas lights while Sam hums along .

Is There Some Connection?

Apparently my putting on Christmas music is the cue to switch on the TV and start watching "Uptown Girls". Last week when I tried to listen to Christmas music, something called "Heartland" got switched on. I mean, I can almost understand last week but now the tree is up, Sam's listening to the music too... Come on, it's once a year... I guess I should burn a CD so I can go out and listen to it in the car.

I decide to go out and take pictures instead.

Leading up to Christmas

Picked up Helaina after work on Friday. Saturday morning, Rachael drove home picking Jake up on her way. Hooked up the old VCR so Sam wouldn't miss his cartoons and we went to the tree farm to get a tree. Got it home and had it decorated by 1:30. Brought Rachael to work at the mall and dropped Jake off at his school on the way back. Stopped at home, did the dishes and picked up Helaina who went with me back to the mall to pick up Rachael and bring her back to school. Back home by ten PM. This morning, Helaina took the car to go back to her school.

Now things are back to "normal"... :(

Ice Cubes

Twenty-five degrees and falling outside and I'm bringing Sam to a pool party. Granted it's indoors but still... we have to go back outside at some point. And since Sam can't swim, I'll be suiting up as well.

I shouldn't complain too much. Sam had a birthday party several years ago at the same place and that was in the middle of a blizzard. I was grateful that a few brave souls came to his party so that it wasn't a total bust. So, it's the least I can do for this friend of his.

Besides, I can't imagine a bigger disappointment for a kid than looking forward to a birthday party and then nobody showing up... but still....

We head out and I can see Sam's thinking the whole way. As we pull into the parking lot, Sam says, "I'm not sure I want to go into the pool. It's not really my thing."

I try to contain my excitement. Swimming is not my thing either. Swimming and then going out into the freezing cold is even less my thing.

"Well Sam", I say, "That's up to you. Birthdays are supposed to be about having fun. If not going swimming is whats fun for you, that's up to you." I try to say this in the calmest voice I can muster. I try to sound like this is no big deal. It's all I can do to not high five him.

We get the present, go inside and have a fine time.

And we both stay dry.

Where's the Bowl of Cherries?

Someday I'm going to write about what it's been like...

Letters to Santa

 

 

Breaking the Silence

Is there anything crunchier than than the sound of someone munching on oriental rice snacks?

I don't think so.