December Isn’t Decembering
I Don’t Know About You, But This December Is Different
My boys are older. Not older, older, but not playing with toys anymore older. They’re video games, gadgets, and tablet kind of older. For the past few months, I asked them what they wanted for Christmas. Every time I asked, they just looked at me with blank stares. They couldn’t think of anything that they wanted.
WHAT?!?
When I was a kid, my mother didn’t even have to ask me what I wanted for Christmas because I was in her ear, her face, and on her lap with one mission and one mission only… I had to inform her all about my Christmas list.
Repeating my Christmas wants and desires was a daily thing. There were times when I knew she wasn’t listening, but do you think that stopped me? Absolutely not. My reinforcement magically arrived. There it was on the living room table… The Sears Christmas catalog.
BABY!
When the Sears Christmas Catalog arrived, my whole body lit up. I searched for a pen, paper, and a comfy place to lie on my stomach to write my list. If I messed up by spelling something wrong, I would start over. I used my best penmanship too. Momma wasn’t about to be confused about anything on my list! (I was just as serious as the girl pictured below sans tablet).
My list had categories: Page number, item number, description, color, and cost. There would be no speculation or guessing on her part. I laid it all out. If she had any questions I was there, breathing a little bit too hard. A chubby face little girl that just wanted her toys. My agenda was supported by the television Christmas commercials. Do you think that I just watched the commercial? Absolutely not. I pointed, turning my head to see my mother’s reaction as the commercial played.
Right there Momma! (turned head to look at her)
That’s what I want!
Do you see it? Do you see it? (turned head to look at the television)
That, right there.
Look! Look, Momma! Look!
After Thanksgiving, she would put some of our Christmas gifts under the tree. I would sit on the sofa and stare at the presents. I would try to guess what was in each box. Christmas took forever to arrive. I laugh now, but geesh! I was intense. In retrospect, I was legit stalking my mother during the Holiday season.
Christmas was all about the anticipation of what could be. The waiting, the imagining. It feels like the Christmas magic is gone. It happens, especially when the kids get older. My boys aren’t wishing for anything. I totally understand it, my pockets appreciate it. I purchased a few gifts for them. Nothing they asked for, but something they would get a kick out of.
This year my boys are spending Christmas with their Dad. I’m not sentimental, or sad in any way. I’m relaxing, catching up on some shows, drinking wine, and writing. December isn’t Decembering the way that it used to December and that’s perfectly fine with me.
