A SPECIAL CHRISTMAS MEMORY

Cole had to do a little presentation this morning to his class about one of his Christmas traditions and Christmas memories. For the tradition, I talked him into telling about a Danish tradition in his father's family that involves one person at the table finding a surprise in their rice pudding. We brought chocolate pudding and played the game with the class. It was fun.

Then Cole shared his Christmas memory. I tried to suggest a few things last night, but here's what Cole shared with his class: "One Christmas Eve I had to wait five hours in the airport for my great-grandmother because they lost her walker." What??? That's the best, most memorable Christmas memory he could come up with?

What about our yearly drive - with Christmas music playing and hot chocolate no less - to look at Christmas lights? What about our mornings opening presents around the fireplace? What about discussing special ornaments as we decorate the tree? What about the time we went to the Old City Park Candlelight Christmas Celebration? Or when we went caroling in the neighborhood with our friends? What about when we pick out the toys to pack in the shoebox for Samaritan’s Purse?

To think that one long, irritating afternoon in an airport could negate all of the warm, special memories I worked so hard to pull off over the past 9 years! I'm thinkin' I'm going to focus on making MYSELF some warm, special Christmas memories from here on out.

HERE WE GO...

I’m a writer, and it’s very in fashion for writers to have blogs so here I go. I’ve actually been a blogger wanna-be for awhile, creating entries every now and then for my non-existent blog and just saving them in Word for no one to read. So I’m taking the plunge.

Knowing that the key to any kind of success with a blog is to keep it regularly updated, I’m going to try to update this thing at least twice a week. That’s saying a lot for me, because I don’t do much in my life unless it is:

1. Billable
2. Kid-related
3. Weight-loss inducing or
4. Highly entertaining for me
   

But, I do enjoy writing, and I do find things fairly amusing in my life sometimes, so I think I’ll enjoy this even if no one really reads it. While I do find my family and friends rather “amusing” at times, I’m going to try to avoid too many can-you-believe-them kind of entries for the sake of maintaining those relationships – which are necessary for my sanity!

I also will try not to make this all isn’t-Cole-cute-and-you’ll-never-believe-the-funny-thing-he-said. However, I probably will include some Cole stories though when they make me laugh until I cry or simply cry. Here’s one that falls into the latter category. The conversation in the playroom went like this:

Cole: Mom, if I die will you take me to the hospital and use those shock things?
Me: Absolutely.
Cole, after thinking for a moment: Actually mom, you’ll probably die before me.
Me: That’s probably true. So, if I die will you take me to the hospital and use those shock things?
Cole: Sure….oh but, I probably won’t be here. You’ll probably die alone. Maybe the neighbors will find you.

There it was. Said right out loud. Put right out into the universe. The nightmare of a single, dateless mom, that could actually come true. I will die alone, and only after the stench of my decomposing body wafts down the street will a neighbor happen to find me.

Certainly by then it will be too late for the shock things at the hospital.