The Tallest Elf

The lovely and honest Ms.Moon wrote here about her, well, lack of interest in Christmas. Ya know, the crappy store music, the damn bell ringers, the way they wrap candy in red and green tin foil to "celebrate". And all of that? I agree wholeheartedly with.

But.

I'm an elf at heart. An eternal child. I simply cannot help myself. Christmas never fails to make me light up like the freakin' Rockefeller tree. I love the carols, the wreaths, wrapping presents, baking thousands of cookies with Mom, and the general feeling that something special is going on. I love to decorate, stringing lights across evergreen boughs (ever-green because they are the store bought plastic kind...but that's ok too).

I spent most of the weekend up at the museum getting Santa's Secret Shop ready. A place where the kids can buy the presents for Mom & Dad. They'll come in with a crumpled five dollar bill suffocating in their sweaty hands. They'll touch each thing reverently. I've seen a six year old spend twenty minutes deciding between the I love Mom mug or bracelet. But either would be perfect. Mom loves whatever you give her.

Their little faces screw up with concentration and they lower their eyes and hand the item to me along with all of their money. So I kneel down and say, "Hey sweetie. Mommy is going to love this. You did a great job picking it out by yourself. And it only costs four dollars so how much do I give you back?"

And they will tell me and I'll put it in a pretty bag and remind them that it's a surprise.

And they'll run out of the store shouting, "Mommy, mommy! I got you a bracelet! The lady said you gonna love it!"