Well, Christmas just can’t be the same for adults as it is for kids. I’m finally going to accept it. Kids don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen rolling out pie dough and checking the prime rib. They don’t have to worry about cleaning the special wine glasses and being careful not to break Great Aunt Frances’ fine china. They don’t scrub the pans and clean up the piles and piles of wrapping paper.
Instead, they become thrilled with each unwrapped present. Mythili squeals with delight when she sees that Nanny sent her her favorite toy, a new set of Polly Pockets. Isabella proudly hands out presents to everyone because she “can read now, Mama!” Riona is amazed each time she discovers that more than one present is under the tree. And while the adults are busy enjoying their after-dinner wine and cleaning the kitchen, the kids relish the freedom of indirect supervision. I allow them to watch the movies they got this year–Tinker Bell, Wall-E, Garfield–and they basque in my TV-leniency. They are all thrilled to receive new games that of course they want me to play with them–a household scavenger hunt from Aunt Willow, a LeapPad card game from Nanny. They proudly adorn themselves with the new outfits and hair things from Grandma and Aunt Elizabeth. They get to stay up late, sleep in, and have a real vacation.
Our Christmas this year has been a bit crazy. While Elizabeth and Zak planned on coming around the 20th, Zak ironically had the same hernia surgery as Bruce, on the same day! So they had to delay their trip by a week. Meanwhile, Great Grandma was in town, and since Grandma and Grandpa were working, Bruce and I went up to Lafayette for a few days to take care of her during the day. Well, let me rephrase that. Bruce was still in a lot of pain and can’t lift anything over 10 pounds for 6 weeks, so it was more like me taking care of 4.5 kids (Great-Grandma counts as a full child, Bruce, in his complacent way, just as half 
). I definitely have learned to appreciate everything that Bruce does for me, our kids, and our house!! After driving back and forth and carrying multiple gifts and luggage in and out, vacuuming two houses, and taking care of a gaggle of kids on my own, I’m missing my old Bruce. Only 4.5 weeks to go!
On Christmas Eve, we picked up Grandma from work, where she treated us all to lunch at LePeep. We walked around downtown for a while and then headed to our house, where Grandpa joined us, and we fixed homemade pizza. Then we opened our gifts from Mama and Daddy and Tennessee. The girls were exhausted by then and went to bed quietly, so when Santa came a short while later, they were sound asleep! Santa left a large easel for Isabella, a tabletop easel with dry erase and chalkboard for Mythili, and a rolling cart full of wood blocks for Riona. He also left some ornaments, cars, and hair things in the girls’ stockings. Then Grandpa, Grandma, and Great Grandma went home. Bruce and I barely woke up in time on Christmas morning to get the video camera ready to capture the girls’ reactions to their presents!
So Elizabeth and Zak finally arrived on Saturday, and we had a second Christmas/Dad’s birthday celebration in Lafayette on Sunday. No one was complaining! We all received some wonderful gifts, and just like the years we go to Tennessee, the girls got to have 2 Christmases! We spent the afternoon enjoying another round of the 20-pound prime rib that Grandpa got for a Christmas bonus, and then drove to see his office in Berthoud. Ironically, since this will likely be his last job, Berthoud is the town where he had one of his first jobs, and where my parents had their first house. Of course we drove by it as well, and the tree I cimbed when I was 3 was still in the front yard, as well as the wood stove my parents installed!
Yes, Christmas isn’t the same as it was when we were kids. We have to work, work, work in order to make it work for our kids and our family. But seeing the joy, the purely innocent joy, that fills my daughters’ faces as they anticipate and participate in this holiday, makes it all worthwhile. I gather their happiness bit by bit, happy that, now that it’s over, I have discovered my holiday mood. It lies within each of their smiles, giggles, and cheerful squeals. And it’s worth every bit of work.
