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Maybe I was blinded by the merriment, but everyone seemed to be at their best today. Sure, I didn’t have to do any cooking or calm any overamped children, so I had it easier than most. But I’d like to think that everyone in the family enjoyed the day, possibly even as much as I did.
It helps to start with the right attitude. I don’t think I did very well at that first thing this morning, because it was earlier than my body likes to get up and get going. But it didn’t take me long to get in the spirit. I’d say it happened just about the same time Kylie came bouncing up to me with that smile of hers. There’s your Christmas spirit, and even when she chirped, “I want to open another present,” it was so sweet and innocent that it felt right.
We spent the morning opening presents at the House of Many Children. There were many success stories, but Aiden seemed particularly appreciative of the thought that went into his presents. He loved the toy jackhammer I gave him, and he was over the moon about the Cars racetrack from his Uncle Eric. Kylie sat in her Dora the Explorer saucer chair for the longest time, and Dakota was happy with his battery operated dinosaur, which he named Rexie. D.J. got a remote control tarantula that he liked. He named it Larry, because, as he explained, “it has legs, and it’s hairy.”
And there were lots of other moments of joy and gladness throughout the morning, but I don’t want this to become a list of things, because it was all about more than things. I was just happy to share the day with my favorite people, and I was thrilled with the haul of goodies that came my way as well. Right now my SpongeBob pillowcases are in the washing machine, so that I can put them on my new pillows tonight. Some people somewhere might have got lumps of coal, but I got a Mr. Potato Head and the new book about Charles Schulz. I think I made out pretty well. |
