The kids try not to think about it.
But there is a growing pile of things under the Christmas tree with their names on it.
That pile calls out to them.
Each time mom and dad go out and each time the UPS man stops out front, mom disappears into her bedroom and then the pile gets a little bit bigger.
LOOK. AT. ME! See how there isn’t even room for the cat to sleep under me anymore! I’m a pregnant Christmas tree!
You have to sneak a peek at it.
I hear their whispers. “What do you think that one is?”
See, we don’t allow items under the tree to be picked up, weighed, shaken, and otherwise moved. That’d be cheating. To figure out what you are getting before Christmas is treasonous.
But when we aren’t looking there’s a lot of pointing going on. No doubt when mom and dad are off on an errand things get picked up. They probably even get shaken. Shaken!
Paul is sure of a few things. Overconfident in that McLane boy kind of way. He’ll brag before lunch on Christmas about it.
Megan seems to like the mystery of it all. Even though she has a good idea what a few items are, she’d rather be surprised.
Jackson seems to care most that the Christmas tree lights are on 24 hours per day. He knows there are things under that tree for him. But the lights are super important and Christmas-y to him.
This morning, Jackson and Paul had their little chocolates from their Advent calendars bright and early. Paul gobbled his up and Jackson just kind of carried his around. Then he had an idea: “Mommy, ginger cookies? Ginger cookies. Cookies. Ginger cookies.” (He’s working on his language a lot lately.)
Jackson asked for two little ginger bread man cookies to smash his Advent chocolate between. Just like his mommy– he wants to make a sandwich out of everything.
It’s time for Christmas to come. We’re ready.
Christmanticipation
Christmanticipation is the nervous energy building in our house. O, it’s building.
Kristen’s parents arriving this afternoon will ramp up that energy. Things will start to feel out-of-the-ordinary and special. There’s church tonight, special stuff for the kids complete with gobs of candy and fun.
More anticipation for what’s to come.
The nervous waiting will put the dam of anticipation on high alert tomorrow. We’ll try to keep them busy and distracted. Maybe we’ll go see a movie. Maybe we’ll sit down and watch Elf. We’ll do anything to avoid a 3 Mile Island level meltdown.
Hot cocoa, anyone? Eggnog?
Advent is a season of preparation and anticipation for the arriving Savior. (I’d be kidding myself if I thought my kids were excited about Advent. They are excited about their Advent candy from Trader Joe.)
The challenge left in the next two days is to redirect some of the attention from the tree to the manger.
See, the kids have their expectations for Christmas.
But mom and dad have theirs, too.
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