We made our annual trek to the mall to visit Santa on Monday. It was Emma's turn to be in charge of the activity for Family Home Evening, so off we went, donned in gay apparel. Visiting Santa has a tendency to heighten my anxiety level - some of that may come from my own childhood experiences with the big bearded guy. But as a mom, when the girls were little, I was anxious about them sitting on his lap without a major fit of crying. I was afraid of traumatizing my child while at the same time not wanting the kindly Santa to feel bad because he was traumatizing my child. Now that they are past that stage the anxiety arises from what they'll say when they sit on his lap. This fear of mine is solely the fault of my cute-as-a-button youngest. When she was two she sat serenely next to her sister and when asked, "And what would you like Santa to bring you for Christmas?" the most astonishing thing escaped her lips - "A firetruck." I remember looking at Loren and mouthing, "A firetruck?" Needless to say, where that gift choice came from remains a mystery but to Santa's credit, Lucy found a bright red firetruck waiting for her under the tree on Christmas morning. This year, I wasn't very impressed with Old St. Nick's appearance. The past 3 years we've gone to the mall Santa has been far more authentic looking AND more outgoing. Perhaps he wasn't feeling quite himself when we visited but the girls didn't seem to notice and eagerly climbed up on his lap. (notice Lucy is holding his hand in the photo) So, the big moment came and I leaned in to hear their requests for the year. Emma's response, "A two wheel scooter." I already knew that; no sweat, took care of that on Black Friday. Lucy's answer, "Barbie on a moped..." not breaking news, we'd seen that at Toys R Us and a couple weeks ago they offered free shipping. But just as I thought we were in the clear she took a deep breath and added, "...AND an airplane with two wheels."
14 years ago
