I'd like to say that my house is quiet right now...as the clock ticks past midnight, but Jon is snoring up a storm and just barely heard over that is the sounds of Hannah watching "Tale of Desperaux" on the flat screen in the living room. For a moment I had to check and make sure she didn't have surround sound on because Jon's snoring usually drowns out the television I have playing in the same room so being able to hear one over the snoring, my t.v., through a closed door and down a hallway is pretty impressive. Turns out she didn't have it on she just had it up REALLY loud.
Instead all I found when I ventured out to be the cranky mom commenting on the "too loud" television is my baby girl snuggled down with pillows and blankets. She had asked Jon and I if she could sleep on the sofa tonight so she could watch television. Our agreement to this question marked the four dozenth time of her proclaiming..."this is the BEST Christmas ever"! I don't care who you are, if you are the parent of one or a dozen, those six words just melt your inner being and will make you relent even when you think you shouldn't.
Not that her sleeping on the couch is a huge deal....it's just that I don't get it. It truly cracks me up that once again one of our kids is so excited to sleep on the couch. I. Just. Don't. Get. It. Have I ever fallen asleep on my couch? Yes. Have I ever HAD to sleep on my couch? Yes again. Would I pick my couch over my bed if I had the choice? Hell to the no.
But my kids...LOVE sleeping on the couch. I told Jon that I think it is because right now both of the girls don't have satellite service in their room, so the couch is the only way for them to lay and watch shows. I think that now that they have cleared the destruction and clutter in their room allowing me to go in there and contact our cable provider to have them assist me in finding the problem that soon we won't have to deal with a kid sleeping on the couch. I'm hoping that this theory is true because with a hubby that snores I really like the idea of having my couch clear if I wanna escape to silence to write, read or even watch a show without having to strain to hear dialogue through his mind grating snores.
But enough about that...on Christmas Eve we let Hannah open the obligatory (in her mind) gift and she got the boots that she was so gaga over. Think the Gap commercial and the adorable little girls singing "I love my comfy sweater...I love my comfy sweater...how cute are these boots"...yep now she is the proud owner of those cute boots. She was so happy over them that she wore them to bed. Not just on her way to bed but actually into bed and slept in them. I don't think I have seen her that excited about anything since....hmmmm, I'm thinkin....ummmmm...yeah, I don't know when she's ever been this excited about a clothing item. She was excited last year over her Nintendo DS, but to my knowledge she didn't sleep with it.
That moment of adoration that follows your child opening a gift and then the beaming of enthusiasm that follows is a drug that should be bottled and kept for the moments when they leer at you and profess how you have "ruined their life" and how "you are the WORST. PARENT. EVER".
My first taste of holiday victory came yesterday when I tackled the chore of gift wrapping. Although I've spent the past six months in a life funk I did manage to get gifts wrapped Christmas Eve morning and NOT wait until the ungodly hour of midnight so I was able to just relax and get to bed at a decent hour. Of course we had a repeat of last year where Jon turned in and I was left awake to place the gifts. I don't know why we play this game anymore since the "magic" of Santa has been dispelled in our home. I'm just a teensy bit heartbroken about that but not so much so when I realize that come next year if I am not good about getting the gifts wrapped early that I won't have to stay up another few hours to make sure that the children are asleep already so I don't destroy their belief.
This morning Jon was up and at it early and then came Hannah. I, of course, was NOT a morning person but I was coaxed out of bed with coffee and then the gift opening extravaganza commenced. Gift after gift Hannah's eyes twinkled. I thought she might be disappointed at the fact that the gift count this year compared to others was visibly less but I was thrilled when after the last of the gifts were unwrapped she exclaimed that she had gotten everything that she had wanted.
Perhaps the most treasured gift of all was the fact that she had scored her beloved boots and her sister had not been given any. Just as my heart warmed with the spirit of the season I realized that the true gift that my girls seem to relish is when they get something that they believe the other may want but didn't get. I swear sibling rivalry and promoting jealousy between each other is the gift that just keeps on giving in their eyes. It wasn't an intentional move on our part but her admission as to why she seemed so happy almost made Jon and I keel over with laughter.
If I ever thought that I may be able to deny that this child was mine...this cleared up any concerns. She is my daughter through and through.
We had a little break in between when we opened gifts and when Jon's mom arrived to go have Christmas breakfast with us. Love me some Waffle House on Christmas. I should feel bad that people had to work and wait on us because I'm a lazy person who didn't want to cook for my family, but we made up for it by tipping the waitress close to 50% of our bill.
After Jon's mom left we just lazed around the house. I decided to grab a quick nap because the anxiety was getting to me. I woke up fully rested and ready to go see "Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel". It was...hmmm...it was a kids movie. Not a breakthrough performance that will affect my life like say "The Blindside" but it did make me laugh and allowed me to watch Hannah laugh and smile.
We made our way out of the theater and went in search of dinner. After driving from one end of our city to the other we settled on Chinese. A few servings of sweet & sour chicken, pork spare ribs and fried rice later it was time to head home. Jon unfortunately has to work Saturday and Hannah was still hoping to squeeze in a board game before the dreaded bedtime.
Hannah had picked out "the Office" trivia game for us to play. For anyone who is a fan of this show...I highly recommend getting this game. We are Office obsessed so we were cracking up playing the game. Our family is one that loves trivia. We can pass hours just asking each other question after question about movies, music, etc.
I won the game (because I'm the Monica) and Jon came in 2nd which of course only means that he was the first loser. Hannah thought that observation was completely hysterical. It was a simple ending to a wonderful day. The only thing missing was Olivia.
So here I am....house semi quiet....another 364 days before we will do it all again and I wonder.....
I wonder what lays in store for me...for our family in the coming year. I wonder if this will be the year that we will actually save money ahead of time to pay for Christmas and not have to scramble at the last minute putting off a mortgage payment or other household bills. If we will shop early and wrap as we go, like we've said we would do for the past 12 years. I wonder will we be celebrating the season in one home or in between two. Will Jon and I still be a we or will it just be two single entities? Is there a career in store for me? And will I see more light in my life instead of the same darkness?
So much to think about in the coming days and so much to wonder about for the coming year. I hope this holiday season finds you enjoying the simple joys such as kids and their boots or the giggle that arises when you see yourself moving towards the finish line of a game. The world and life ahead is unsure and uncertain, it's these little serendipitous moments that keep us warm and comforted during the day to day grind.
Enjoy the wonder. Enjoy the moment. I know that I will....even if only for tonight.
~JP
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