The Elusive Gifties
Every year at this time, I start thinking about what it was like when the kids were little and I was on a QUEST to find the one thing they wanted more than anything else.
Usually, I was lucky. I did really well in the 'Oh boy, Santa brought me ______ fill in blank here! One year though, I was thwarted. And heart broken.
When the dd was three years old, she wanted for some unknown reason, this one particular baby doll. She wasn't very cute, and she was like that Stretch Armstrong doll, as in filled with some weird substance that made her cushy and strange feeling. Anyway, Santa found her at a store in plenty of time for Christmas. BUT on Christmas Eve, disaster struck!
The kids were sleeping as my folks, the dh and I got busy setting out Christmas goodies for morning. I unwrapped the special baby and discovered she'd sprung a leak at the back of her neck. It was like that movie Invaders From Mars. She had goo leaking in a steady stream and this was way too ugly to give to dd. I freaked. And the dh being a fabulous human being, reacted quickly. We had a half hour to get to Toys R Us before it closed at midnight. We raced there, searched frantically and couldn't find a replacement dolly. All we had was the mutant. Dh convinced me that Sarah would be so pleased with everything else she had, she wouldn't miss Brain Dead Baby.
Christmas morning....a sea of wrapping paper, lots of squeals and plenty of joy to be found. I relaxed. Figured all would be well. Until....Sarah came up to me and said, "Santa brought me everything I wanted EXCEPT my baby!"
Knife to the heart. I staggered, crying around the kitchen. Desperate, I jumped in the car, ran to the closest (and only one open,) drug store and bought a baby doll. Not the goo filled one she'd wanted, but a baby. Got her home and wrapped and dh put her in the garage. A half hour later, he brings in the baby, tells Sarah that Santa must have left it in the garage by mistake.
Big eyes went wider as she opened the paper and found the baby she'd been craving. Didn't seem to matter that this one didn't have the goo running through her plastic veins. All that mattered to Sarah was that Santa hadn't forgotten. And that she had a baby to cuddle. She carried Baby around for a week, never letting her out of her sight.
And I can still remember the jolt of pleasure we'd found in making a dream come true.......
Christmas time VS Deadline
When did Christmas get so close???
I had big plans. I was going to have this book finished by the 15th so I could relax and bake and make candy and oh I don't know... maybe CLEAN???
None of that's happening so far.
Still, I have high hopes. If I can just convince myself to get out of the chapter that's killing me at the moment, maybe the rest of it will roll.
Hope so, cuz Christmas is coming, ready or not.
