THE ANNUAL "VISIT WITH SANTA...."
Emily was thrilled to go see Santa, with Mom, Grammie and Jordan today.
Right up until she actually saw him.
Then it was all over! Done.
There was no sitting on Santa's knee...No telling him what she wanted for Christmas, and if you look closely, Emily would not even glance at Santa after her 'initial look' that told me...
"Hell no, I ain't going near that guy!"
I think we 'bribed' her to even "smile" since she was 'way to close to that Santa guy' for 'comfort' even then, to be 'happy' at all.
Once "the picture" with Santa was done,
it was back to the safety of the 'other side' of Mom... pronto.
When Santa went to give Emily her little 'present', the reach could not have been further away...and have still enabled her to get the 'bag' at all.
I've noticed for years that most little kids 'don't want to have anything to do with Santa'...but look at what happens when you become a teenager?
Obviously, Santa makes you laugh by then...as Jordan shows...and then by the time you have your own children, "Santa is almost perfect again" and we all load up our kids in great anticipation of the adorable "Christmas picture of our DARLING children sitting on Santa's Lap."
When they are very little, the reality 'behind the scene' involves a lot of 'bawling', looks of terror, and squirming like crazy to bolt away from the stranger as fast as they can.
Parents become completely 'oblivious' to the hundreds of other people standing around watching them as they 'primp and preen' their kids for the big moment. Parents 'cluck' 'kiss' 'threaten' 'boogie boo and boogie boo over and over', 'yip', 'scowl', or even threaten the kids "they aren't getting a damned thing for Christmas if they don't smile, damnit!"
I was thinking how cool it would be to have a movie camera on the 'parents' during this ritual?
Parents are 'begging', 'scolding' and 'bribing' to get that one second in time when the little kid actually looks like he or she actually 'enjoys' the ritual. It sometimes depends on Mom cleverly providing a 'buffer' between her and her young and 'that guy in the red suit'...by getting in the photo herself....such as Wendy did.
THIS awful Mom just had them take the picture with the kids 'bawling' or frowning, so they would know when they were grown, that I always took them to see Santa, always got their picture taken...and wasn't going to be the generation that stopped the Tradition at any cost.
Now they want to kick God out of Christmas for heaven's sake! Santa would be my first choice....and I can't imagine us telling little kids we were going to take them to sit on "God's Lap", can you?
...of course, when you finally get to be our age..YOU ARE SANTA.
We even toyed with the idea of Allen dressing up as 'Santa' when all the kids and grandkids come to Christmas, but after today...I think it would probably terrify all the little ones and drive them into their mother's arms like Orangatangs...so it might be best to just 'pass' on that idea for this year.
So, SANTA IS FOR ADULTS....and that is fine with me.
Grammies and Papa's can give and get kisses from the little ones,
and Santa can't.
That is as it should be, methinks.
posted by Linda's World Today at
6:59 PM
4 Comments:
I am looking forward to being one of "those parents" very soon
I was just thinking that, Lindsay.
Can't wait for the pictures. Ben will be looking good...but I wonder about Ean this year?
Twisted Xmas story from my family in Louisiana.They write as they speak with no articulation.
_________________________________
'Twas de night before Katrina, when all tru da state
Not a gas pump was pumpin', Not a store open late
All da plywood was hung, on de windows wit care,
Knowing dat a hurricane, Soon would be dere.
Da chilren were ready wit deir flashlight in hand
While rain bands from da hurricane covered over our lan
And Mom wit her Mag-lite, and me wit my cap
Has jus filled da battub for flushing our crap..
When out on de lawn, there arose such a clatter
I sprang from da closet to see what was de matter
The trees on da terrace, and de neighbor's roof torn,
We feared we'd be dyin' in dis terrible storm.
Wit a little wind gus, so lively and quick,
I membered quite clearly our walls was not brick
More rapid than Eagles, her courses they changed!
And she whistled and wafted and surged all the same.
Off shingles! Off sidings! Off rooftops! Off power!
Down trees! Down fences! Down trailers! Down towers!
On da street of New Orleans, she continued to maul,
Screaming Blow away! Blow away! Blow away all!
As da wind ripped and tossed da debris tru de sky,
I peeked out the shutters at the cars floatin' by.
So go to the attic my family did do,
With a portable radio and some batteries too.
And den in a twinkling, I heard on da set,
The end was not coming for a few hours yet!
As I calmed down da kids and was turning around
Tru de window it came with a huge crashing sound
A tree branch it was all covered in soot
De wind blew it smack-dab on top of my foot!
A bundle of twigs now lay in a stack
And my Livin' Room looked like it was under attack.
De wind how it howled, de storm very scary,
Myself and my family were all too unwary.
Da dangers of hurricanes are serious ya know,
Dey are taken for granted as Betsy did show.
Wit da winds dying down and da danger beneath,
I noticed my tool shed was missing its sheath
So I grabbed my last tarp, and nailed it on down,
Den I got in my car and drove into town.
Da traffic was awful and stores had no ice,
My 5-gallon cooler would have to suffice
Generators was scarce, not one left in town,
Dere was trees on the roads and power lines down.
FEMA was ready wit people to work,
Electrical companies came in from New York.
I sprang to da car, and gave my family a whistle,
Den away we all went like a Tomahawk missile!
You could hear us exclaim as we drove out of sight,
"The heck wit dis place, Texas seem just right!"
How is the 'family' down in New Orleans Genn? The story was a riot...but if it were you, would you move back?
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